


My best friend is a bad boy

by meanie_nim



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bad Boy Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups, Bad Boy Kim Mingyu, Basketball, Best Friends, Bromance to Romance, Business, Chaptered, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Dramedy, Drinking, Fluff and Angst, Jeon Wonwoo & Kim Mingyu Friendship, M/M, No Smut, Protectiveness, Slow Burn, Students
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-05-30 20:23:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 42,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19410718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meanie_nim/pseuds/meanie_nim
Summary: Wonwoo and Mingyu have been best friends since they can remember. Both move to a shared flat for their studies after being seperated for over 8 years. Mingyu is a bad boy and makes life harder for himself and for his daily life with Wonwoo. Can their friendship withstand the stress and worries that life will bring? Can there be more than friendship?





	1. ONE

**Author's Note:**

> ♧♧♧ Okay, I must be crazy, already posting a new story, but here I am - back much sooner than expected. But I've always wanted to write a meanie fic with a mix of best friends since childhood and a bad boy Mingyu, so I hope you will give this much love.♧♧♧

**July, 2019**

It was probably the hottest day of the year. The sun burned down on the street in front of the university campus, making every student and teacher sweat under her radiant heat. People were already walking around half-naked, as if they were afraid of suffering a stroke by wearing more clothes. 

Wonwoo groaned as he stepped out of the library building with a heavy pile of books in his arms. As if the heat wasn´t enough, he had forgotten his shoulder bag in the hectic early morning and had to carry his stuff from one lecture to the next in his arms all day long. He had woken up too late because his extremly smart roommate had thought that it would be a great idea to throw a little party on Sunday evening, drinking, listening to loud music and playing cards with his best buddies until 3 am. As a result, Wonwoo had gone to bed very late last night and had been late for his first lecture as well.

Sweat was running down his forehead as he made his way towards the crossing lights. At least he was not living that far away from the campus. 

Wonwoo almost dropped some books, when suddenly an arm was placed around his shoulder, squeezing him against a tall, sweaty body. "Yah!" he hissed, while trying to balance his stuff. "Let go of me. I'm fucking hot and you're sweating so much,“ he let out as he tried to free himself from the grip of his roommate, who was grinning at him with his bright white teeth, bringing Wonwoo even closer to himself. "Mingyu!" 

Kim Mingyu. The latter was not only his roommate for the past six months, but also his best friend since his early childhood. Their fathers had been in the army back then and so it happened that both boys, born in the same year, had known each other for so long that they had even taken their first steps in diapers together. Both families were close to each other and so Mingyu and Wonwoo grew up like brothers. They used to see each other every day and went to the same kindergarten and primary school as well. 

When Mingyu's father and his entire family had to move to another city due to work-related reasons, the two friends had been separated for over eight years. Both had graduated from school in different places, at least 800 kilometers away from each other and were only allowed to meet during summer breaks -but their close friendship remained. 

Half a year ago they both had moved to Seoul and became roommates. Mingyu was studying sports science and Wonwoo tried his luck in business. Even though they had seen one another much less in the past years, their friendship was still as strong as if they had never been separated from each other.

"Why are you so grumpy today?" his best friend asked, finally letting go of his shoulder to take three of his books out of his arms. "Look, I am even helping you,“ he let out with a proud smile while they were crossing the street side by side.

Wonwoo rolled his eyes, but was relieved that he no longer had to carry so much weight on his own. He glanced over at Mingyu, who was wearing loose basketball shorts and a sleeveless shirt. With his 1,87cm it was the best sport for him anyway. "I'm so grumpy because someone decided to invite his friends over and play cards until late into the night the day before." 

Mingyu smirked. "If you mean Hoshi, Seungkwan and Seungcheol, who are also your friends by the way, then I don´t feel guilty about it because no one forced you to hang out with us that late.“ Wonwoo glared at him. "What else could I possibly do if you guys were having fun together right next to my bed? Because of you, I overslept and because of you, I forgot my bag this morning, so don't mess with me right now," he hissed while placing his other books in his friend's arms as well.

"Carry this home for me and then maybe I'll forgive you," he added stubbornly as Mingyu burst out laughing. "Dude, the heat is really not doing any good for you. You're lucky I'm in such a great mood today, otherwise I would throw your fucking books right into the next trash can. But as I said, you are lucky today," he replied with a smirk.

Wonwoo glanced over at him as they were walking along the big green park. Not many people had the privilege to get to know a smiling Mingyu. His best friend was someone, people would call a bad boy. He always had been a rebellious nature. Even in primary school he had often been sent to the teachers' room because he had bothered or pestered other children, while never obeying the rules of the authorities. When they were still living apart from each other, Wonwoo had always noticed that his friend was having problems with teachers and other students on a regular basis - especially during puberty. Wonwoo was happy that Mingyu at least stopped smoking before starting with college altough he only did it because it was really counterproductive for an athlete.

However, as cold and nonchalant as Mingyu may have been towards others - even in front of family and friends sometimes- as affectionate and caring he was behaving towards Wonwoo. Of course they argued and had disagreements -after all, they knew each other better than anyone else- but never did Mingyu become violent or offensive towards his best friend. While he almost didn't care at all about other people and their feelings, Wonwoo's thoughts and well-being had always been important to him. And that's why they had build such a strong and trusting bond with each other over all these years.

Although Wonwoo had repeatedly scolded him for being so rude to others, Mingyu hadn' t dropped his bad boy image after all this time. He had got more relaxed after starting college, but as soon as someone pissed him off or said something offending to him, Mingyu still could become very unpleasant very quickly. He was headstrong, sometimes stubborn, and even if he was not looking for trouble, he was often surrounded by an aura of danger, distress, risk.

Some of the other students were gushing over Wonwoo's best friend though because he was a good-looking, tall athlete and especially many girls were over the moon because of his bad boy attitude but Mingyu had never been interested in dating or being in a relationship with someone before. "Why are you in such a good mood anyway?" Wonwoo asked when they were only a few meters away from their apartment. He almost felt sorry for Mingyu, who was carrying all his heavy books while sweat drops were falling from his chin onto his chest by now. It had been at least 38 degrees today.

"Well, my coach had praised me a lot in training today and said that I was constantly improving. I am aware of that but it's nice when someone else acknowledges it as well." Mingyu´s basketball coach was probably the only male person, besides Wonwoo and his father, whose opinion was also important for his best friend.

Wonwoo reached his arm towards Mingyu´s nape, wiping the sweat away with his hand. "You always sweat like an animal,“ he muttered as Mingyu sighed. „I am just too hot for this world.“ They never had any problems with body contact. Wonwoo had not been disgusted when his best friend had a stomach intestine a few weeks ago, vomitting right at his feet and Mingyu had wiped Wonwoo´s nose several times without hesitation when the latter had been lying in bed with a nasty cold. They had grown up this way and that was how they acted towards each other over all these years.

Wonwoo was unlocking the door as they arrived home and Mingyu rushed inside, heading for the stairs. They were living on the fourth floor of a multi-storey building, where 80 percent of the residents were students. They had been really lucky to get this apartment because finding a place to live in Seoul was not the easiest thing to do.

"It's so hot," Wonwoo let out when they entered the apartment, throwing the keys on the table. "And it still stinks here of the potato chips from last night," he added with a meaningful look towards his best friend, who was placing his books on the sofa, ignoring his remark.

"I need a shower first," Wonwoo said and headed for the bathroom, but Mingyu rushed past him with a laugh. "Yah! Don't you dare!" the older boy by two months yelled while running after him, but he was too late as Mingyu slammed the bathroom door right in front of his face. "Asshole!" Wonwoo yelled and banged his fist twice against the wooden door.

Mingyu opened a crack and peered out with a grin. "If you want, we can shower together. I know you enjoy looking at my hot athletic body,“ he joked as Wonwoo grabbed for the knob, closing the door.

"Fuck you and your athletic body," he shouted before turning around, heading back into the living room. "Ugh, I'm so hot," he whined to no one in particular while he let himself sink onto the sofa. He turned on the TV, fanning with his hand to get atleast a little breeze.

Actually Wonwoo had planned to read some pages for the seminar tomorrow, but in this inhuman heat, he didn't want to do anything more than to take a shower and not move at all afterwards.

He yawned and his eyes fell on the photograph next to the TV, which was showing him and Mingyu, both ten years old, standing in swimming trunks on the beach. Wonwoo had to watch him constantly at that summer break a few years ago, because his friend always wanted to swim too far out into the sea and had gotten into deep water all the time.

Mingyu had always been the one who was more daring and reckless, while Wonwoo was the rational and calm kind of guy. Although they always had been so different, many people often thought that they were blood-related brothers - especially when they were still little kids.

"Hurry up!" Wonwoo yelled towards the bathroom and sighed. It was just too hot. He even turned off the TV, because it would only contribute more to the heat. He took off his shirt and threw it on the sofa next to his books. He was so sweaty that he couldn't take another minute with clothes on.

"Ah, the shower was refreshing," Mingyu let out, suddenly walking into the living room with wet dripping hair. "Did you open the window?" Wonwoo asked as his best friend dropped his tall body onto the sofa next to him with a towel wrapped around his torso.

"I'm so tired from practice," the younger murmured and laid down, putting his head on Wonwoo's lap and placing his feet beside his books on the sofa. "Yah, I'm gonna take a shower in a minute, so don't get too comfortable."

"Sure." Mingyu nodded while trying to find the perfect spot on his friend's thin tighs. "I'm really hot, Gyu," Wonwoo whined because of the extra weight on his body which was only warming him even more.

"Stop complaining," Mingyu replied and turned around on his lap, facing him. "You are making my shorts wet," Wonwoo said, while running a hand through his friend's damp black locks.

"Then it might get a bit cooler down there,“ Mingyu replied in a relaxed voice, closing his eyes. He had a small scar on his forehead, like two other similar ones, right next to his left ear. His bad boy attitude also had consequences for his body and Wonwoo didn't like that at all.

The business student let his eyes wander over his best friend´s face, discovering a new scratch under his right cheekbone. He brushed with his thump over the slightly reddened skin. "Have you fought with someone again?"

"Are you counting my scars again?" Mingyu opened his eyes, glancing up at him with his big brown orbs while shaking his head. "And no, I didn't."

"The scar here is new, don't lie to me." Wonwoo muttered, removing his hand from his friend's face.

"I am not. I got the ball in my face today,“ he replied with a pout. No one would believe Wonwoo, that bad boy Kim Mingyu was sulking while laying with his head on his lap.

„Serves you right. And now get up. I want to take a shower." Mingyu shook his head. "Get up!"

"I'm tired," his best friend whined, making himself more comfortable on the older's lap. Wonwoo groaned, already sweating more than before. "Yah! And I'm fucking hot, so if you don't want me to throw you on the ground, get up now,“ he threatened and placed his hands on Mingyu's side, ready to roll him off any second.

"You wouldn't dare," the younger replied sleepily, his head still firmly on Wonwoo´s lap.

"Watch me," the latter said and was about to throw his annoying best friend to the ground as Mingyu lifted his head abruptly and moved to sit next to him. However, he managed to knock all the books over with his feet while doing so. "Great. You can pick that up again until I come back from the shower," Wonwoo commented and got up, his crotch completely wet from Mingyu´s hair.

His best friend took a look at his shorts and smirked. "Hold back your comment. It's not funny already," Wonwoo said lamely before heading towards the bathroom.

When the older stepped out of the shower a few minutes later, Mingyu had his 1.87 cm spread out on the sofa, so there was absolutely no space for another person because of his giant body. Wonwoo didn't care. He walked up to him and let himself plump down on Mingyu´s upper body.

"What are you doing? I was just nodding off," his best friend complained and tried to push Wonwoo off of himself.

"It is still not even 8 o'clock. You can't sleep now and I want to sit on the sofa, too," Wonwoo replied and pressed down on his friend with all his weight. "Get up."

Mingyu groaned, but laughed out loud when Wonwoo started tickling his stomach. The problem with knowing each other since infancy was, that you knew every weakness of your counterpart. And Mingyu´s weakness was his flat but ticklish stomach.

Mingyu couldn't stop laughing and wriggled around, but Wonwoo didn't let him go. "Okay, okay, I'll get up."

"Good decision." The older leaned away and let Mingyu sit down, making space for him. "You are so annoying," the latter murmured with a grin, caressing his belly. "I almost died."

Wonwoo snorted and let himself drop on the sofa next to his best friend. "Now I'm so hot again that I could take a shower once more," he whined, leaning his head against Mingyu's shoulder.

"It' s your own fault. Now be quiet, I want to relax," Mingyu replied. Wonwoo looked up at his friend, whose hair was messed up and his cheeks all flushed from the wrangling, asking himself how could someone look like that and act cold and harsh towards other people? As he was thinking about this question, his eyes fell on his friend's latest scar again. "Gyu."

Mingyu turned his head, waiting for him to talk. "Is this scar really from the ball?"

A soft smile scurried over his friend's face which only Wonwoo got to see from time to time. Mingyu placed his hand on the older's wet hair, brushing a few strands away from his forehead. "First you try to kill me and now you're worried about a little scar?"

Wonwoo pouted. "Idiot." Mingyu smirked and took his hand away as Wonwoo leaned his head back against his shoulder. "We played 4 against 4 today. Coach had said that I should try a three point throw, even if I have an opponent directly in front of me. So I jumped up while Yoon, the stupid Idiot, was blocking and pushing me away, making the ball drop right into my face."

"Good." Wonwoo relaxed. He didn't like it when Mingyu was physically fighting someone and he was glad it was really just the ball this time. As much as they were teasing each other, it had always been very clear to Wonwoo, that Mingyu would never lie to him. He had definetely lied to others before but the older trusted every word that came out of his friend's mouth towards him. "What do you mean by good? Do you think it is okay when my pretty face is hit by a ball?"

"I just don't want you to fight and I don't want to see another scar on your ugly face any time soon," Wonwoo murmured as his eyes got heavy. "Yah, who is ugly? And who just told me seconds ago that one shouldn't nod off before 8?" Mingyu asked and Wonwoo sighed.

"Shut up. I slept less than 5 hours today because of you." He yawned, closing his eyes and although it was getting warmer and warmer as he snuggled up to his best friend, the familiar closeness was more important to him than the increasing amount of sweat on his body. Wonwoo was addicted to Mingyu, regardless how other people saw him. The younger was a part of his life -a very big one- so everything that was happening to bis best friend, affected him the same -for better or worse. 

-

The next day Mingyu and Wonwoo had seminars scheduled at different times, so his best friend was already out of the house when the older one was waking up in the morning.

He packed his books, which of course were still lying on the ground after Mingyu had kicked them from the sofa with his long legs yesterday.

Half an hour later, as Wonwoo arrived on campus, heading for his lecture hall, a female student suddenly bumped into him.

"Excuse me," she muttered before continuing to run towards the sports field with another student in tow. "There is a fight," another guy shouted, also rushing towards the field.

Wonwoo stopped walking and started to get a bad feeling. His lecture in business management would start in less than ten minutes, but his instincts told him that his best friend had something to do with the quarreling on the sports field. He had to choose where to go first.

Wonwoo groaned before following the other students to the fighting guys. "I'll rip your ass off if that's you, Mingyu."

A group of girls and boys were already at the scene, blocking the view on the rowdies. Wonwoo pushed himself forward and his mood immediately sunk to zero. The fighting students were both wearing sports gear, one of them taller than the other with already disshelved black hair. Mingyu.

Before Wonwoo could interfere, one of the college coaches rushed in, blowing into his whistle. "Get away from each other immediately!" he shouted in a deep low voice that even made Wonwoo stagger back.

Mingyu, who had been leaning over the other student seconds ago, released the grip from his collar and sat down on his butt with a mad expression on his face. His lip was cracked open and his forehead covered with grass stains. There was blood on the back of his hand and his knee was scraped.

Wonwoo already instinctively wanted to approach his friend but the coach positioned himself right in front of Mingyu. "What are you doing? Are you nuts? You're not in highschool anymore," he yelled at the two squabblers.

Since the coach was blocking Wonwoo's view on his friend, he took a glance at the other student, who was looking much worse, probably already having a broken nose. Mingyu could be really dangerous when fighting someone.

"He started it," the latter let out accusingly and pointed his finger at his best friend while grabbing for his bleeding nose with the other hand. The coach changed his position and Wonwoo looked down at Mingyu who was plucking shreds of grass off his knee, ignoring the other student with a resting bitch face.

"I want all of you to leave for your seminars," the trainer ordered as he turned towards the group of curious students. "Now!" His voice had so much authority that nobody had to be told twice.

Only Wonwoo kept standing at the same spot and still looked down at his best friend with mixed feelings. On one hand he was really mad at Mingyu right now for getting into a fight again but on the other hand he felt sorry for his best friend as he was sitting on the ground, looking all dirty and hurt.

"Hey, are you deaf? I told you all to go to your classes," the coach yelled at him, getting more upset by the second.

"I'd like to take my buddy to the nurses room," Wonwoo replied, trying not to show how intimidated he was by the coach. He was definitely impressed by his powerful aura.

"And I'd like you to go out of my sight and leave for your lecture," the stressed coach snapped back while Mingyu was standing up from the ground. "I can't believe what you're doing right now! Do you all want to be kicked out of college together? Is that what you want? Is this the way young adults should behave?" he shouted again while Mingyu was knocking the dirt off his butt, showing no reaction at all.

"I want to see you both outside my office tonight at 6:00! And you, what's your name?" the coach asked Wonwoo while Mingyu grabbed his friend's arm, starting to drag him away.

"You don't need to know his name. He didn't do anything wrong," he replied boldly and Wonwoo let his friend pull him along while the coach mumbled a "disrespectful" after them.

Wonwoo was very uncomfortable with the whole situation. The only thing that made it easier for him to deal with it was, that he didn't have the coach as a teacher anywhere and he couldn't care less if he met him again.

"Why did you interfere?" Mingyu asked when they arrived back on campus, letting go of his arm. Wonwoo stopped and glared up at his friend. "Are your fucking serious right now, asking me that? What were you doing back there? Look at yourself! What's wrong with you, Mingyu?"

It had always been like this between them. Mingyu had again been unable to control himself, Wonwoo was mad at him for that and at some point they would behave as if nothing had happened. What other choice did Wonwoo have anyway?

"I need to go to the restroom to wash away the blood," Mingyu murmured without responding to his friend's accusations.

Wonwoo grabbed his arm as he started moving. "You can ignore your coach, but not me, Gyu! What happened this time for fuck's sake?" he asked in a desperate tone, while reaching with his other hand for the younger's chin, inspecting his bursted lip from up close.

Mingyu stopped moving and let Wonwoo just do whatever he wanted. "I don't feel like talking about it."

Wonwoo let go of his chin and dragged him by his arm towards the restroom. "And I didn't feel like watching you roll on the ground, fighting with another student, but look what happened." The halls were all empty because most of the lectures had already started.

"So, what was it this time?" Wonwoo asked his friend as they were standing by the sinks in the restroom. The older was moistening a paper towel while Mingyu grimaced, inspecting his face in the mirror.

"You really don't want to know, Wonwoo," the younger mumbled as his friend grabbed his chin again and with his other hand started to dab the blood off the corner of his mouth.

Mingyu flinched. "Yah, that hurts!" he whined and Wonwoo looked at him in disbelief. "Then you might think about it next time before you fight again! And yes, I want to know why you two were rolling on the ground, trying to kill each other." 

"He insulted my dad and said he is a fucking Nazi because he had been stationed in Germany for a few years." Wonwoo took his hand down and looked Mingyu in the eyes. His father was everything to his best friend and he defended his name against everyone.

"We had just finished training and his team lost. I did a few more exercises when everyone else was already gone. All of a sudden he came running towards me, pushed me and called me the son of a Nazi. I hadn't even punch him for that remark. I just warned him and said that if he didn't get out of my way immediately, I'd kick his ass." Wonwoo grabbed for a fresh paper cloth and rubbed the grass stains off Mingyu's forehead with it.

"Then he insulted you. He must have seen you with me a few times and- that's all you need to know." Wonwoo moved his hand away to look at his friend, who was already staring back at him. "You know I freak out when someone says something against you."

Wonwoo threw the smeared cloth into the trash and sighed. "Gyu." He knew. Of course he knew. He had experienced it several times: in kindergarten, primary school, at playgrounds and even among friends where Mingyu immediately became aggressive as soon as somebody talked bad about Wonwoo or attacked him.

"Still you can't solve everything with violence. At some point it won't turn out that well. What if you are thrown out of college? You can't endanger your future so much. You'll be 19 in a few weeks. It's time to grow up." Mingyu looked at him dumbfounded for about ten seconds before he started to laugh. He stopped doing that though, suddenly touching his lips, which must have hurt because of the wound.

"You are two months older than me and preach about life like a 60 year old white man who made many mistakes in his youth and now wants to give helpful advice to the younger generation." Wonwoo pushed him away from himself. "Fuck you."

His friend gave him a little pout, stepping into his personal space again. "Don't be mad, Nonu," he pleaded in a sweet voice, making Wonwoo cringe. He hated it when Mingyu tried to distract from his actions by behaving like a little child, not to mention that it didn't fit his bad boy image at all.

"Just shut up. I need to go to my lecture. I am already late again!" he replied, checking Mingyu's face one more time for injuries. "You still should see the college nurse. She probably can give you some balm for your lip."

"I don't like her. She always tries to flirt with me although she is like 15 years older than me." Mingyu replied and grabbed for his friend's hand, pulling him closer before Wonwoo had the chance to move towards the door. "Don't be mad, okay? I am trying really hard to be a better person."

"Try harder." When Mingyu started to pout, Wonwoo let out a groan. "I am not mad at you, okay? So can you please let go of my hand now?"

Mingyu smiled and squeezed his fingers before releasing him. "See you at home. Cook something nice for us, since I am going to be late because of the coach," he said, before heading towards the door.

Wonwoo shook his head in disbelief. "Remind me, why are we friends again?" Mingyu, who was already grabbing for the doorknob, turned around one more time. "Because I told you that I will never leave your side when we were 5 and i am keeping this promise, bro."

♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧

**September, 2005**

_"Nonu, don't do this. She will hurt you," 5-year old Mingyu let out worried, grabbing for his friend's shirt to keep him away from the neighbor's cat, who had jumped into the Kim's garden._

_"Min, let me go, I want to pet her. Look at her fluffy fur," Wonwoo said excited, stretching out his little arms towards the big black cat._

_Although Mingyu didn't let go of his friend's shirt, the cat decided to jump straight towards Wonwoo, clawing at his body. "Ah, that hurt!" the latter cried out, while Mingyu let go of his shirt in shock, grabbing for the neck of the cat to pull her away from his friend._

_The cat was scared at Mingyu's sudden touch and jumped away, back into the garden of her owner. Wonwoo was sitting on the grass, crying his eyes out. Mingyu wanted to run inside and get his parents, but he decided not to leave his friend alone -in case the mean cat would return._

_Mingyu sat in front of Wonwoo, caressing his arm while the other was still crying. "Does it hurt a lot, Nonu?" The latter looked at his friend and nodded with tears in his eyes._

_Mingyu grabbed for Wonwoo's shirt and pulled it up to look at his stomach, where the cat had hurt his friend with her claws. "Your tummy is red. Do you want me to get Mommy?" Wonwoo shook his head. "No. I am a big boy," he replied, wiping his tears away._

_"Are you sure?" Mingyu asked, afraid that it would get worse, if his mother wouldn't look at it._

_Wonwoo nodded, grabbing for Mingyu's hand. "As long as Min is with me, I am okay."_

_Mingyu smiled at his best friend. "Min will always be with Nonu."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't promise that I will post this story as regularly as my last one - so probably not every day😄, but you never know..
> 
> This fic is planned with many chapters, but only if you, my dear readers, are interested about the plot. And don't forget that English is not my first language, so don't judge me on that please. 😊
> 
> So let me know if you want more of it!  
> Meanie_nim ♡


	2. TWO

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Warning: mention of death (Wonwoo´s father)

**September, 2011**

_"Wonwoo baby, come to me," Wonwoo's mother greeted her son as he walked inside his house, coming back from middle school on a Tuesday afternoon. The eyes of the woman, who was in her mid thirtes, were reddened and her cheeks tearstained. Behind her in the living room, sat two men in soldier uniforms, glancing at him with a worried expression._

_Wonwoo knew immediately what had happened, but tried to deny it. "Mom, where's Dad?" he asked in panic, taking a step back as his whiny mother tried to grab for his arms, while her son let his school bag drop to the ground._

_"Honey. It's--I'm so sorry. Your father, he is- baby, your dad, he-" Wonwoo shook his head. He didn't want to hear it. His eyes were already burning and his hands started sweating._

_"No! No," he let out while slowly staggering backwards towards their front door. "Wonwoo, where are you going? Please stay here honey," his mother begged, but he could no longer hear her, his ears were ringing. He opened the door and stumbled outside, hot tears started to fall down his cheeks, while his neck tightened._

_Wonwoo started running until he arrived at the edge of the forest and had to stop to gasp for air. His vision was blurred and he tried to breathe in and out deeply. What should he do? He needed his best friend right now. But Mingyu was more than 800 kilometres away from him._

_Wonwoo felt dizzy and sat down on the ground next to a meadow. He reached into his jacket, taking out his phone. Heavy sobs made his body tremble while he tapped on his best friend's contact with shaking fingers, praying that the only person he needed right now, would answer._

_It rang three times, four times and Wonwoo felt worse and worse. "Hey, Brooo, happy birthday! I was about to call you in a few minutes as well and congratulate you, but you couldn't wait, huh? What is-" Mingyu stopped talking as the older sobbed into the phone. Hearing his friend's voice and knowing that he couldn't be with him, made everything three times as bad._

_"Wonwoo? What's going on?" Silence. What should the latter say anyway? How could he bring the words over his lips which he didn't want to believe for himself._

_"Wonwoo, please say something, you are scaring me." Mingyu's voice sounded worried and Wonwoo wanted nothing more than to have him by his side in person._

_"Gyu," he let out in a howling voice. "It's dad." That's all Wonwoo had to say for Mingyu to understand. Both friends knew what these words meant. As children of military fathers, they had been taught over time what it meant when their dad's colleagues suddenly would visit the family. The two friends had always sworn that something like that would never happen to them._

_Wonwoo sobbed again and by now he could no longer hold back the flood of tears. "Wonu." Mingyu sounded too overwhelmed, as if he was struggling with tears himself. What could a 12 year old boy say to console his best friend about a situation where he shouldn't be in in the first place?_

_Wonwoo started to get mad. Where was Mingyu when he needed him the most? Why did it have to meet his father of all people? "Where are you?" he yelled at the one who could do nothing for his misery. "Why are you thousands of miles away when I need you, huh?"_

_Mingyu remained silent. "I just need you so fucking much right now so please, do something! You're like at the end of the fucking world, probably arguing at school with God knows who while I need you here by my side so bad!"_

_There was silence again before he heard Mingyu clear his throat a few seconds later. "I would get on the next plane immediately and be with you tonight if I could. You know that," he replied with a soft voice. Of course Wonwoo knew but that wasn't enough._

_The older boy rubbed his teary eyes with his free hand. "What do I do now, Gyu? I can't stand this. It hurts so fucking much," he let out, laying down on the cold asphalt despite the cool weather. "I can't endure it." What a great birthday. He would never be able to enjoy this special day again. His childhood was over._

_"Wonwoo, I'm going to ask Mom if I can come to you this weekend outside the summer holidays for a change. And if she says no, then I'm going to ask dad and if he says no, I'll ask Grandpa. I'll come to you and today I'll stay on my phone until night with you and call you tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. I'm here for you, okay? You are not alone. Please don't do anything stupid." Wonwoo sat up again. "My father died today and I am sitting on the ground in front of the forest, crying my eyes out of my head. You are not here for me, Mingyu. The phone can't replace you." He flipped his phone shut, stood up again and ran back home. If nobody could comfort him right now, at least he had to be there for his mother._

_Mingyu didn't come to visit him the following weekend._

♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧

**September, 2019**

It was the day before Wonwoo's birthday and Mingyu just came home from his last lecture, meeting his best friend in the kitchen. The younger had been messing with Yoon again today, who kept freaking him out during training.

"Hey," his friend greeted him, while placing a pizza in the oven. "Dinner will be ready in 15 minutes," he announced as if he had prepared a three-course meal. 

Mingyu shook his head with a little smile. As unhealthy as the two were eating, he would not be surprised if this would soon have an effect on their weight and health. "Did you cook again, huh?" he joked, leaning against the fridge, forgetting about his annoying day for a while.

Wonwoo grinned while taking two glasses out of the cupboard. Mingyu watched as his friend poured himself a grapefruit juice and grimaced after he tasted it, as it was probably too sour.

They hadn't said a word about Wonwoo's upcoming birthday yet. It was the first time in eight years that the two friends would celebrate his birthday together, and also the first time that they would spend the anniversary of Wonwoo's fathers death together.

Mingyu was nervous because he didn't know how to address the sensitive issue and was afraid to reopen old wounds. But it was his best friend's birthday and he couldn't do just nothing. "Hey, are you going to university tomorrow?" he asked as randomly as possible while Wonwoo squatted himself on the counter, waiting for the pizza.

"Yeah, sure. Why? Are you not going?" Mingyu scratched the back of his head. He had been never careful with words and rarely thought twice about what to say to someone, but with Wonwoo everything was always a little bit different.

"I am going. I was only wondering that, since it is your birthday tomorrow, you might-"

"Mingyu, please don't. Tomorrow is a day like any other. I don't want a surprise party or any kind of attention. I haven't celebrated my birthday for seven years and I don't see the point to start with it now." He wasn't annoyed or angry, just disinterested - as if they were talking about another person and their birthday right now. Mingyu bit his lip and nodded.

"How was your day? Didn't you have some test in the morning?" Wonwoo asked, changing the subject. What did Mingyu care about the fucking test when his friend obviously was upset about the upcoming anniversary of his fathers death, trying to hide it. Wonwoo did seem to forget though that Mingyu could read his face better than anything else. He knew how his best friend was feeling by just looking at him.

"I think I passed. That's all I care about." Mingyu would never had started college in the first place if he hadn't been so interested in sports -primarily basketball. It had been a miracle anyway that he had made it to college with his pretty poor grades and bad attitude in high school.

"Of course. Why am I even asking," his friend muttered, jumping down from the counter. "Can you look after the pizza for a second? I have to go to the bathroom," he added and patted Mingyu on the shoulder as he passed him.

"Oh and Gyu," he called, stopping in the doorway. "I wanted to visit my father tomorrow around three o'clock. I don't know how long your lectures will last, but maybe you want to come along? It's around 45 minutes with the train from here. But you don't have to, I was just-"

"Three o'clock is fine," Mingyu replied without letting his friend finish talking. He would have actually had lectures until six o'clock in the evening, but he didn't give a damn about them. His friend needed him, even though he didn't say it out loud, and Mingyu would be an ass to let him down. The older one nodded and headed to the bathroom.

-

"Will you join us for a drink tonight?" Hoshi asked as he and Mingyu were sitting in the cafeteria during lunch break on the next day. "Nope. Busy."

His friend smirked. "Sure. What is more important for Kim Mingyu than boozing?" The younger ignored his question and bit into his dry bread. As far as he knew, the others had no idea when Wonwoo's birthday was and he would be the last one to reveal it to them. Mingyu hadn't seen his best friend since last night. This morning Wonwoo was already gone when he had woken up and they hadn't met on campus either, which meant that Mingyu hadn't even congratulated his best friend yet.

"If you change your mind, let me know. We leave around 10 o'clock," Hoshi said and got up. "My lunch break is already over. I still have to see Professor Lin, because of a lesson which I did not understand."

Mingyu stared at him with a bored glance. "Do I look like I care about that?" Hoshi grimaced at him. "I know you don't mean it," he let out with a smile and Mingyu rolled his eyes. Hoshi was okay. He only knew him since he started college and the shorter boy was one of the few students who didn't get on Mingyu's nerves right away. "Get lost already."

About ten seconds after Hoshi had left the cafeteria, Wonwoo entered. He was alone, wearing a cap that hung low in his face -unusual style for his best friend. When he discovered Mingyu, he waved at him just before taking a plate to have some soup poured into it.

"Hi," he greeted him after he had paid, sitting at the table opposite Mingyu. "The soup looks really disgusting. The food in the cafeteria becomes more and more inedible. Maybe we'll have to start cooking for real. I-" Mingyu reached for his friend's hand and squeezed it. "Happy birthday, buddy."

Wonwoo looked up and although he was smiling at him, there was a sadness in his eyes that broke Mingyu's heart. "I will hug you later to congratulate you properly," he added and Wonwoo shook his head with a grin. "Sure, you have to think about your bad boy image." 

"Exactly." Mingyu nodded in agreement. "Gyu, my last lecture is cancelled and I would like to leave after lunch already. I would never ask you to skip your lessons, so you can decide whether you want to come or not."

Mingyu let go of his hand so his friend could start eating his soup. "Sure, I'll come with you. I only have theory lessons this afternoon and you know I don't need that."

Wonwoo looked up at him, raising his eyebrows. "Maybe you should stay after all. I don't want a guilty conscience that you're missing out on important stuff."

"You can say whatever you want, I'll go with you." Mingyu felt that his friend was suffering inside and although Wonwoo was normally always talking very openly about his feelings, his father's death had always been a big taboo between them and Mingyu accepted that.

"Why are you looking at me?" Yoon suddenly growled at him, who was apparently sitting at the table next to them. Mingyu must have stared in his direction, while being lost in thoughts.

The younger one frowned. "Shut the fuck up or I'll pour the hot soup over your crotch," he hissed at him, receiving a glare from Wonwoo.

"Sorry," he murmured to his friend. Mingyu knew how Wonwoo hated his aggressive nature towards others, but the younger was sure he was born with it and couldn't make it go away. Still, he decided to ignore Yoon and at least wanted to try not to cause any problems on Wonwoo's birthday.

"Shall we go, then?" his older friend asked after he was done eating his soup while Mingyu had thrown evil glances towards his fellow student in the meantime.

The station was right next to the university and so half an hour later they were already sitting in the train to the military cemetery where Wonwoo's father was buried. It was unusually quiet between the two best friends who used to laugh at each other's nonsense or tease one another all the time. Mingyu didn't like this heavy mood at all, but he didn't know how to change it without addressing the obvious. So he looked out the window while Wonwoo was answering some congratulations messages on his phone.

"It's interesting that people on the internet congratulate me although we almost never talked in real life before," Wonwoo mumbled after a while and Mingyu nodded absentmindely. He was still nervous, already thinking about how to act later. He hadn't been to the funeral then, nor had he ever visited Mr. Jeon's grave before. Although his parents had been very good friends, they hadn't been able to go to the funeral out of work related reasons and hadn't let their 11 year old son fly over there on his own -even if Mingyu had yelled at them, freaking out because they had not allowed him to be there for his best friend during such a horrible time.

The younger one looked over to Wonwoo, who typed something into his phone again, trying to act as normal as possible -although Mingyu could imagine what was going on in his head right now. The latter sighed and that made his best friend look up at him. "What is it?"

Mingyu scratched his head. "Oh, well, nothing? I just think that train rides are really boring," he replied with a small lie. How could he tell Wonwoo that he had been worried about him since last night and didn't know how to behave towards him because of this special day.

"Why are you lying?" Mingyu closed his eyes for a moment. Fuck. He forgot that not only did he know his best friend inside out, but also the other way round. "I'm sorry, Wonwoo. I'm just a little nervous," he replied honestly and his friend nodded. "Yeah, me too," he mumbled, putting his phone away.

After they left the train and headed towards the military cemetery, Mingyu noticed that Wonwoo became more and more restless, running a hand through his hair like every minute. When they arrived at the entrance and a sea of white crosses stretched out in front of them, Mingyu started to feel uneasy. His own father, who was not a soldier anymore, could just as well have been lying here. He had never talked to Mingyu about the death of his friend and the younger blamed himself for this because he had often been quite uninterested in his father's life, although he loved him from the bottom of his heart and gladly took his advice on important questions in life.

"He is over there," Wonwoo said, pointing to the right, where the white crosses had been placed around a fountain. It was less a cemetery than a memorial which even attracted a few tourists in the middle of the week.

"Won, do you want to go alone first or should I come with you?" Mingyu asked uncertain, glancing at his friend with big eyes. Wonwoo always managed to change him from being a bad boy to feeling like a helpless puppy in an instant - but only because his best friend was the most important person in his life and he would do anything for him, just like a loyal dog.

Wonwoo reached for Mingyu's hand without saying a word, dragging him along. When they stopped in front of one of the many white crosses, Mingyu read the inscription: Jeon, K.-W. -loving husband and father, died while saving innocent civilians. Rest in peace, our beloved hero. Mingyu's throat was completely dry. He had never asked how exactly Wonwoo's father had died and reading that, made him somehow even sadder. 

Wonwoo crouched down in front of his father's cross, letting go of Mingyu's hand. "Hi dad. I brought someone today." His voice was soft and full of emotion. Mingyu had to hold back to start crying like a little child although he never cried. Since the younger didn't know what to do, he crouched down next to Wonwoo and brushed his fingers over the inscription. "Hello Mr Jeon. I'm sorry I hadn't visited you before." Wonwoo looked over at him with a little smile and tears in his eyes. Mingyu had to gulp.

"Dad, I know you never liked flowers, so I didn't bring you any again. But i brought this here," Wonwoo took a miniature paper plane out of his jacket. "You always taught me how to make these planes in any size, remember?" He put the handcrafted plane next to the cross on the meadow.

Mingyu could hardly stand the sad atmosphere and bit his lip several times to avoid sobbing loudly. "Min and I are roommates now. Can you believe that? After you felt so sorry that I had to live without my best friend for many years, we actually reunited again. He can be really stubborn and unreasonable but he is taking good care of me though i am the older one," Wonwoo continued to tell about his life, while more tears were running down his cheeks. "Older by two months only," Mingyu noted, trying to lift the mood a little bit.

When they were young, Mingyu had often seen his best friend cry, but since they were living together after eight years of separation, he hadn't seen this emotional side of Wonwoo before and again his heart was breaking for him. He hated everything right now and would have punched anybody at that moment to compensate his anger at this injustice that had hit his dear friend.

"Mr. Jeon, Wonwoo is a top student and will one day make himself known in a big business company after graduating. You can be proud of him. He even-" As Mingyu was still talking, his friend stood up abruptly. The younger was confused. Did he say something wrong? "I want to go now," Wonwoo said in a low voice.

"Won, we just got here. You should take your time and-" Wonwoo turned away. "And what? I said i want to go."

Mingyu got up and hurried after his best friend, who had started walking away with quick steps. But he had longer legs and caught up with the older one easily, grabbing for his arm to turn him around. His best friend was trembling and had his eyes shut tightly and Mingyu immediately understood that the older one was trying to keep his composure. "Let's go, please," he whispered with a shaky voice without looking at him and Mingyu's heart broke into 1000 pieces once again. How much pain had Wonwoo held back all these years and eaten grief into himself?

"Wonwoo. When you called me seven years ago, I couldn't come to you and hold you in my arms and comfort you, which was the only thing that i wanted to do at that time. But now I'm here, okay? I'm standing right in front of you in person, not only over a fucking phone. So please, open your eyes and let me be there for you this time, Wonwoo. I want you to-" He didn't need to continue as the older one looked up at him with eyes full of tears, stretching out his arms towards him. Mingyu leaned forward and pulled Wonwoo tightly to himself as his friend's body was trembling in his embrace. He yelled into his chest, crying loudly. "That's good. Let it all out," Mingyu whispered, caressing his friend´s back.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me the most! I had yelled at mom so loudly that the neighbors were knocking at our door. I hated my parents so much that they had not allowed me to fly over to you," Mingyu whispered as Wonwoo was still sobbing in his arms. A tear rolled down the younger´s cheek, surprising him. Mingyu really didn't cry at all. The last time he could remember was when he had heard from the death of his friend's father seven years ago. "I thought about you every day and I was so worried that you might do something stupid in your grief."

Wonwoo wrapped his arms even tighter around Mingyu's waist. "I was never mad at you. Don't apologize," he mumbled into his chest after he had calmed down a bit. "I was just so pissed about the whole situation that you were so far away and I couldn't bear to only hear your voice on the phone while all I wanted was to have you right next to me."

Mingyu loosened his grip as Wonwoo leaned back a bit. "Oh? Bad boy Mingyu cries? That would be a great headline for the university magazine," Wonwoo suddenly joked with a tear-stained face, surprising Mingyu with that. He placed his hands on his friend's cheeks, wiping the remnants of tears away. Once again he swore to himself that he would protect this precious human at all costs.

"Would you like to go back again?" Mingyu asked after awhile. "No, I want to go home now and have a beer with my best friend for my birthday," Wonwoo muttered while Mingyu stared at him in disbelief. "You want what?"

Wonwoo pinched his cheek and started heading back towards the station. Mingyu followed him with a grin on his face before he remembered something, reaching into his pocket. "Wait, I got a present for you."

Wonwoo turned around and tilted his head. "Here, all the best to you buddy. Love you," Mingyu said, handing over a small wrapped giftbox towards his friend. "A gift? Why did you buy me something, Mingyu?" Wonwoo whined, reaching for it. "We've never given each other anything before."

Mingyu patted his head. "Stop complaining and just open it." 

The birthday boy pulled off the ribbon, attaching it to one of the buttons of Mingyu's leather jacket. His friend was slowly endangering the younger's bad boy image, but he didn´t really care at that moment, looking all excited as Wonwoo was opening the box. "Mingyu, is that-" Wonwoo stopped talking as he pulled out a necklace, reaching for the flat golden pendant in the shape of a plane.

"Turn it around," Mingyu mumbled impatiently because he wasn't sure yet if Wonwoo was happy about the gift. The older turned the pendant, holding it close in front of his eyes to read the small print: "Where you are is where i want to be. Love, Min."

Mingyu had often been around when Wonwoo´s father had shown them how to make various paper planes and his best friend had always been really proud that his dad could make such great things. The pendant looked the same as the paper plane, Wonwoo had in his room and although it was already slightly faded, Mingyu knew that his friend was keeping it in memory of his father. "Is this the same plane as the one in my room?" his older friend asked and glanced up at him, tears were glittering in the corner of his eyes again. "Yes."

Wonwoo nodded slowly, holding the necklace in his fist tightly, visibly touched. Mingyu still didn't know if Wonwoo liked the gift or if he was just overwhelmed by everything right now, so he grabbed his friend's hand, pulling him closer. "Do you like it?"

"I love it." Mingyu smiled at his fast reply while Wonwoo was putting the necklace over his head. "If the paper plane will fall apart someday for good because it's really old or if it accidentally gets blown out of the window in a gust of wind, I had it made out of gold, so you can keep it all your life. It's a men's necklace and yes, i am aware that you don't like them, but you still can just hang it somewhere in your room or-" Mingyu couldn't stop babbling, but Wonwoo stopped him by putting his arms around his neck, snuggling up to him. "Thank you so much."

The younger one placed his hand on Wonwoo´s head, brushing his fingers through his hair. "But don't tell anyone, otherwise, my bad boy image will be destroyed in a second," he joked and couldn´t remember the last time he had given a gift to someone -and certainly not one that he had thought about for days before. Wonwoo laughed into his shoulder.

The older one leaned back and bit his lower lip. "I won't tell anyone, otherwise people will know how amazing Kim Mingyu really is and want to be friends with you. But you know what? I don't want to share you." Mingyu smiled at that and removed his arms from his friend´s shoulder.

"So you're an egoist who wants to keep me for himself, huh?" Wonwoo nodded with a smile and Mingyu wondered if it had been the first real one since last night. The whole day had been gloomy and burdensome for both and now it was like the sun suddenly seemed to emerge through the dark clouds again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that this chapter is somehow gloomy, but it was important as an introduction and especially for the continuation of the story. 
> 
> I am happy that you are interested in the plot, hoping that I can live up to your expectations. 🤞😄  
> Thanks for the Kudos! ♡


	3. THREE

**October 2019**

„I can't believe you talked me into this." It was Friday night and Wonwoo was heading with his best friend to Hoshi´s place, who was throwing a party in his shared flat with Seungkwan. Wonwoo wasn't someone who just stayed at home, but he hated lots of people in the smallest space who behaved impossible because they drank alcohol. 

"Come on. It'll be fun. It's also the first party we both attend together and Hoshi would hold it against us if we wouldn't show up." Wonwoo sighed dramatically and looked over at Mingyu. He was wearing a destroyed pair of jeans with a leather jacket over a black shirt. His hair was styled to the back, which made him seem even more unreachable for others than usual. 

"Yes, yes, whatever. As soon as it gets too stupid for me, I'll leave," Wonwoo replied stubbornly as they arrived outside the door of Hoshí´s Apartment. 

"Party pooper," Mingyu let out before pressing the doorbell button. It was just before midnight and they could already hear roaring music through the front door - the party was already in full swing. 

A student whom Wonwoo had never seen before opened the door and hollered at them with a beer in his hand. "Yah, has anyone ordered hot strippers over here?" he shouted as the two entered the dorm and Wonwoo wanted to turn around already. Judging by the crowd, Hoshi had invited half of the college. 

They had to fight their way through the crowd of dancing and smooching students. Mingyu grabbed the older´s wrist so they wouldn't get lost as they tried to get to the other side of the room. Their friends had built something like bar counter where there was plenty of alcohol. Wonwoo was a light drinker, so in most cases he avoided the liquor. 

Mingyu, on the other hand, was advanced, grabbing for two beers already. "Here," he handed him one of the bottles and Wonwoo took it. Without any alcohol, he would probably not survive the night, so he decided that one beer wouldn´t hurt him. 

"Hey. Well, look who's giving us the honour." Hoshi walked up to them, grinning broadly and judging by his breath, already slightly tipsy. "I was sure about Mingyu, but the fact that you came as well, Wonwoo, is really a pleasant surprise." The older took a sip from his beer, ignoring his remark. 

"I had to practically kick him out of the door, but here we are," Mingyu replied for him and received a dull look from his best friend in return. 

"Join the crowd, I need to go to the bathroom," Hoshi yelled because someone had suddenly turned the music to the maximum volume. As their friend staggered away, Mingyu took a big sip from his bottle, looking around. "What kind of idiots did they invite, I wonder? Even the whole chemistry class is actually here." 

Wonwoo, who could harldy understand what he was saying because of the loud hip hop song, that was playing currently, got closer to his friend. "I'm also at this party and I'm sure your cool gangster friends are thinking the same about me, asking themselves why is the business student here." 

Mingyu gently flicked his fingers against his forehead. "First of all, I don't have any gangster friends and secondly, if anyone ever thinks that about you, they'll get to know my fist,“ he murmured close to his ear.

Wonwoo rolled his eyes and took another sip of his beer, leaning against the counter as Seungcheol was approaching them. "You two look like you're trying to steal the show from everyone here. Why did you dress up like runway models?" 

Wonwoo looked down at himself. He was wearing a pair of plain jeans and a black shirt. How could this be considered looking like a runway model? "Mingyu, can you please come with me for a moment? I want to introduce you to someone,“ Seungcheol added, grabbing for the younger´s arm. They both had often been to parties before and Wonwoo was sure that they sometimes were dealing with things that weren´t quiet so legal -although bis best friend had always promised him that he had nothing to do with drugs or other dangerous things.

"Just go, I'll join the crowd or find myself a quiet spot," he reassured Mingyu while the latter looked at him questioningly as if he was not sure if he could leave Wonwoo by himself. 

"I'll be right back. Don't dance too wild," the younger joked before following Seungcheol towards the stairs. Wonwoo wondered who the latter wanted to introduce Mingyu to and hoped it wasn't someone who would have a negative influence on him. He sighed and moved away from the bar counter, spotting a small sofa at the window. Perfect spot. 

Wonwoo was glad it was autumn, otherwise one could probably no longer breathe in this apartment, if it had been warmer outside. There were definitely more people here than there was room. He put his beer on the small table in front of him and sat down, closing his eyes for a second. 

"Hey there." A student who seemed to be a few years older than Wonwoo, sat next to him on the sofa -unnecessarily close. "I've never seen you around here before. What's your name?" he asked him in a tipsy voice. Great.

Wonwoo had to refrain from rolling his eyes and grabbed his beer again, emptying it in a gulp. He hated drunks who approached strangers, thinking it was appropriate. "Sorry, but I'm not interested in small talk," he replied and slid to the end of the sofa. This only made the other student copy him and now he was sitting even closer to him than before.

"We don't need small talk. We can get right to the point," the bearded student whispered into his ear, placing a hand on his tigh and Wonwoo shivered with disgust. Just as he was about to get up, Mingyu was suddenly standing right in front of them, glaring at the other guy. 

"Move your dirty hand away and leave," he hissed, making the sloppy student look up at him in dismay. "Yah, I saw him first, so find yourself someone else," he replied and Wonwoo feared that something bad could happen next.

"It's okay. I was about to get up anyway," he quickly said, trying to ease the situation because he already noticed Mingyu´s death stare. 

He extended his hand towards his best friend so that he could pull him up. Mingyu gave the drunk student one last devastating look before he grabbed Wonwoo´s hand, helping him stand. 

"I need some fresh air," the older one murmured, suddenly feeling the alcohol in his system after standing up. He was really a light drinker and shouldn´t have emptied the beer that fast.

"Let's go out on the balcony," Mingyu replied and walked ahead. That was a bad idea, as it turned out, because as they stepped outside the big balcony, Yoon was there with another tall guy, smoking and laughing at something right now. Immediately Mingyu´s whole body posture tensed up.

"Who invited you?" Mingyu asked annoyed and put his beer on the handrail. Yoon whispered something to his friend and then looked at Mingyu. 

"It's nice to see you too, Kim. Maybe we should settle this once and for all today" he asked feisty and came closer. Wonwoo reached for his best friend's arm so that he wouldn't budge forward. 

"What do you want to settle? Do you want me to punch you in the face once again?“ Mingyu replied angry and Wonwoo didn't like the situation at all. In addition, the alcohol in his system was starting to affect his brain and body.

"Gyu _hics_ , let's go back inside," he murmured, suddenly feeling really unsteady. His friend glanced at him. "Are you drunk already?" he asked him in disbelief and although he had been glaring at Yoon only a few seconds ago, a smile flashed across his face.

"I'm not. I, _hics_ always get hiccups when I drink," the older stubbornly replied. 

"Kim, what now? Don´t ignore me!" Mingyu turned back to Yoon. "Why don't you just use your energy to play basketball better instead of trying to fight now?" 

Yoon's friend suddenly came one step closer and glared at Mingyu. "Hey, I don't know you, but I feel like kicking your ass. I don't like the way you talk to my cousin!" Mingyu looked at him indifferently. "I don´t care about your fucking cousin, okay? So mind your own business." 

The tall guy came even closer and pushed with his hand against Mingyu´s chest. "I really don´t like your attitude." He was almost as tall as Mingyu, but a little broader. 

Wonwoo hiccuped again before stepping in front of his friend and staring at Yoon's cousin, trying to look dangerous. "Listen, don't mess with my best friend or I'll get _hics_ really angry." 

The big guy smirked at him. "And what do you want to do about it? Attack me with your hiccups?" Wonwoo shook his head. "I will talk you down with words _hics_ because your IQ doesn't seem all too high.“

"You little fuck," Yoon´s cousin muttered and grabbed for Wonwoo´s shirt. Before the older knew what was happening, Mingyu knocked his hand away. "Don´t touch him, asshole!“ he glared at him, stepping right in front of him. „Wonwoo, go inside," he commanded without taking his eyes off Yoon´s cousin. 

"No." Wonwoo wouldn't leave Mingyu on his own. Even in his drunk state, he understood what would happen any second.

"Go inside!" Mingyu´s voice got louder, but Wonwoo shook his head behind his back. "No. No. No _hics_ , forget it." he let out childishly. 

"Wonwoo, I won´t say it again." Mingyu snapped, turning around to him. Behind his friend, Yoon's cousin suddenly was holding a bottle in his hand, raising it over Mingyu´s head. Wonwoo hiccuped once before stretching his arm upwards to protect his friend. The tall guy swung the bottle and it broke against his arm. Even as he was drunk right now, Wonwoo could feel single splinters piercing his arm. 

Shocked, Mingyu turned around, punching Yoon´s cousin so hard in the face that the latter staggered back, falling down on the ground next to Yoon. "What the fuck did you do?" Yoon yelled at him. „You're supposed to scare them, not hurt this guy!“ His cousin groaned, standing up. "I didn't want to. He just smashed his arm right into my bottle,“ he lied.

Wonwoo glanced down at his arm where blood was pouring out from different parts. Mingyu reached for his elbow and led him towards the balcony door. "You're dead the next time we see each other,“ he shouted in Yoon's direction while leading Wonwoo inside, right towards the bathroom.

The younger locked the door behind them and helped Wonwoo to sit on the closed toilet lid with an angry look on his face. Wonwoo hiccuped again. "It's not so bad, don´t worry,“ he said, even though he couldn't really tell in his drunken state.

Mingyu pulled out a first aid kit from the closet under the sink. "Just be quiet," he hissed towards his friend and crouched down in front of him. He took a wet washcloth and grabbed for the individual shards to pull them out of Wonwoo´s arm. The older winced but didn't feel the pain too much because of the alcohol. 

"You're lucky the shards didn't go in too deep or else we would have to go to the hospital." Wonwoo´s hiccup was finally gone by now and he wasn´t moving while Mingyu took care of his arm, his facial expression still fierce. 

"Are you mad at me?" Wonwoo asked and received no answer. 

"Mingyu," Wonwoo brushed his hand through his friend´s hair to get his attention. He hated it when his friend punished him with silence. „Min.“ 

"What?“ the younger hissed back, looking up at him. 

"Why are you mad at me?" Wonwoo mumbled quietly. 

Mingyu pointed at his wounded arm. "Isn't that reason enough?" 

The older bit his lip, pouting. "It's not that bad." 

Mingyu shook his head, glaring at him. "Not so bad? I know you can't handle alcohol that well, but I really had no idea that you could get so stupid and do something dangerous like that because of some beer!“

"I still don´t understand why you are mad at me." Drunk Wonwoo was always a little slow on the brain. 

Mingyu stuck plaster on the cuts of his arm, shaking his head. "Wonwoo! I told you about three fucking times to leave the balcony and go inside! And what did you do?" 

"If you think I'll leave you alone with some guys who definetely wanted to beat you up, you probably don't know me well enough," Wonwoo replied. Mingyu was finished, taking care of his arm and stood up without saying another word. 

"Stop being mad at me for nothing!" Wonwoo let out childishly, standing up as well. "He was holding a bottle over your head. Should I just watch him hit you?" 

"It wasn't your fight. He wasn´t angry at you!" Wonwoo shook his head and watched how Mingyu was putting the first aid kit back into the closet. 

"I've to endure your fights all the time and now I'm trying to help you once and you're mad?" Wonwoo asked in disbelief, starting to sober up because of his rising anger. 

Mingyu turned towards him. "You are drunk. We should just go,“ he replied and moved, but Wonwoo held him back by his arm. "No. You tell me right now what your fucking problem is, Mingyu."

"Wonwoo, don't provoke me, I am already mad as hell!" Wonwoo raised his plastered arm up to the eye level of his best friend. "I'd hit that arm ten more times against a bottle if it would protect you from injury. And if you don´t understand the reason, I don´t fucking care."

Mingyu turned around and opened the door to leave the room. Wonwoo couldn't understand why his friend wouldn't talk to him. He wasn't even that drunk. „I'm the older one of the two of us! It's my job to protect you,“ he added, walking after his friend back inside the living room. It was still crowded, but the music wasn't so loud anymore.

Mingyu turned to him, his eyes sparkling with rage. "You are two months older. Two short months! Stop using that as an excuse to do dangerous things!" 

Wonwoo laughed. "Dangerous things? Mingyu, in case you've forgotten, you're the one who's been fighting with others since childhood and hanging out in hazardous places, making me worry."

A group of students close to them noticed their loud argument and turned towards them. "Fight, fight," a drunken boy from the group shouted. Mingyu briefly looked over at him before grabbing Wonwoo's healthy arm, dragging him towards the front door. 

"We are leaving," the younger let out as they passed Hoshi. "Okay?" the latter replied, clearing the way for them. 

When they arrived outside, Mingyu let go of Wonwoo and headed towards their apartment. "Min, please! I feel like shit when you're mad at me and that makes me sad and I am about to cry in a minute." The remaining alcohol caused Wonwoo to be very emotional all of a sudden.

Mingyu stopped and turned around to him. His eyes became softer when he spotted Wonwoo´s pout. He sighed and walked over to the older one, patting his head. "I am sorry. Don't be sad."

"I just didn't want him to hurt you," Wonwoo explained. "And you yell at me as if I had done something God knows what," he added with a whine. 

Mingyu closed his eyes for a second. "Won, I promised your father before we relocated with my family." 

Wonwoo´s pout disappeared and he became serious. "What do you mean?“ 

Mingyu scratched the back of his head. "I didn't want to tell you, okay? But before we moved away and your father noticed how sad you were about that, he had talked to me a week before."

"About what?" They started walking and Mingyu put an arm around his friend's shoulder.

"About you. He told me how important I was to you and that you cried every day because of our move to another city."

Wonwoo turned his face away. "I didn't cry every day," he mumbled, embarrassed. That was nothing Mingyu should have known.

"Anyway, he asked me to always take care of you and if anything should happen to him, he trusted that I would be there for you. I had just turned 10 and of course hadn't been able to understand the weight of his words at that time." Wonwoo stopped walking. The thoughts of his father made him sad. He reached for the airplane pendant of the necklace that Mingyu had given him last month, squeezing it. It was the most precious gift he had ever received and although he hated wearing necklaces, he hadn't taken it off since his birthday.

"Do you know what I said to your father? I told him to tell me something new. I knew that you were sad that I would move away, I was sad too. And that I would protect you all my life and would always be there for you -that's what I had promised you when I was 5 already." The older looked up at him. 

"That's why I don't like it when you say you're older and you have to protect me. I don't want anything to happen to you either and I promised it not only to you, but also to your father.“ Wonwoo nodded. "Okay. But you can't ask me not to do anything if someone wants to hurt you - even if you're the bad boy."

Mingyu smiled. "Okay, I got it. Friends again?"

Wonwoo nudged his cheek. "Friends again." Luckily, they both couldn't manage, being mad at each other for a long time. So far there has not been a single day on which they have not reconciled after a quarrel by the next morning.

♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧

**May 2008**

_"Hey, don't touch him!" Eight-year-old Wonwoo ran into the schoolyard of his primary school, where a classmate was pressing Mingyu down on the ground. Lunch break had started a few minutes ago and Wonwoo had just gone to the toilet for a moment._

_"He pushed me," Lou said, who was probably weighing almost twice as much as Mingyu and had been messing with his best friend over and over again._

_"You took away my lunch, asshole," Mingyu, who could hardly speak because of Lou's weight, defended himself._

_Wonwoo reached for Lou´s arm, trying to pull him away from the younger. "Get up! You're crushing him!" he let out but since he was even skinnier than Mingyu, he had no chance to drag his overweight classmate away from his friend._

_" I don't care. He should apologize to me first" Lou said stubborn._

_Mingyu shook his head. "Never! I didn't do anything wrong." Wonwoo noticed his friend's head getting redder and redder, worrying him._

_He had to do something. "If you don't go down immediately, I'll tell Miss Hwang!" he shouted at Lou and hit him with his fist against his upper arm. Wonwoo never used violence unless he was messing with his friend for fun._

_"If you do that, then I'll sit on you next time and it won't turn out so smoothly for you," Lou replied and glared at him._

_"If you do that, I'll knock you out," Mingyu hissed under him, still feisty, although he couldn't fight back at all._

_"Lou! What are you doing? Get off Mingyu right away" Ms. Hwang shouted, who suddenly came running towards them, grabbing for his arm._

_As Lou got up from his best friend, Wonwoo crouched down to him, caressing his stomach. "Are you okay?" he asked him worriedly._

_"Mingyu, get up, the floor is still cold," his teacher said. "And we'll go talk to each other for a while." She pulled Lou with her, walking back inside._

_Mingyu took a deep breath and looked at Wonwoo. "I'm fine. My belly can take a lot," he said with a grin._

_"I'm sorry I couldn't help you. I am older and have to protect you. It's about time I built up some muscles," Wonwoo murmured as Mingyu sat upright._

_"Don't talk nonsense. I'm glad he didn't sit on you. Look at you, he would have crushed you immediately," his best friend replied and poked him in the stomach._

_Wonwoo stood up and stretched his hand out to pull him up. "Just call for help next time and don't lie around so stubborn until he really breaks your bones."_

_Mingyu nodded and put an arm around his friend's shoulder. "Would you really have ratted him out for me?"_

_"Of course."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this is tagged as a slowburn, i still need a few chapters for their close friendship before it will (or will not 😜 ) turn into something more. So, please be patient. :))
> 
> Big thanks to my loyal readers, who always comment on my chapters, keeping me motivated...you know who I mean ❤


	4. FOUR

**August 2014**

_As the train was arriving at the station, Wonwoo could already see Mingyu through the window. His best friend was waiting for him on the platform, glancing at the still moving KTX in front of him._

_Wonwoo smiled happily. Another year had passed since the best friends saw each other and now summer break had returned and the older was allowed to visit Mingyu for two full weeks._

_More than eight hours of train journey was behind him and Wonwoo was tired and sweaty because the air conditioning hadn't worked properly. But when he spotted his friend, standing by the tracks, his mood shifted and he was really looking forward to finally spending time together again._

_"Hey, hey, hey, finally there you are," Mingyu let out as Wonwoo jumped down the steps of the train in excitement, nearly dropping his suitcase in the process. Mingyu rushed over to him for a big bear hug._

_"I'm all sweaty," Wonwoo mumbled into his friend´s chest. His chest? How was that possible?_

_"I don't care," the younger one replied as Wonwoo leaned back, noticing a change. Mingyu had a growth spurt. While they had been nearly at eye level before, Mingyu was suddenly almost a whole head taller than Wonwoo._

_"You've grown," the older let out, looking up at his younger friend._

_"Yes, I did, little one. The air on the countryside is probably different, at least that's what mom always says. She will be so happy to see you by the way. She missed you very much.“ Mingyu reached for Wonwoo´s suitcase and they started walking out of the station._

_"Is she the only one who missed me?" the older one asked teasingly and Mingyu grinned. "Mh, I don't know if my grandpa also has such strong feelings for you, but-" Wonwoo laughed and pinched his friend´s arm. Doing so, he noticed some bruises on his skin._

_"What happened here?" he asked and pointed at his arm as they were walking along a dirt road. The Kim´s lived only ten minutes away from the train station, so they didn´t need to pick up Wonwoo by car._

_"I told you before that I've been playing basketball lately. Looks like I still need more practice. My sports teacher must have discovered a talent in me tough and strongly recommended that I should develop it. Now Dad has even set up a basketball hoop at the garage to encourage me, but I'm pretty sure he's got another motive behind it." They were passing a herd of cows and Wonwoo stopped, glancing at them. As a city kid, village life was pretty unfamiliar to him and he always looked forward seeing more animals and experiencing nature in person when visiting his best friend._

_"Why did your dad put it up then?" he asked while stretching out an arm towards the fence to pet a cow, which was looking at him with big eyes._

_"He thinks that baskeball will help me to get my aggression under control or something like-" Mingyu stopped talking and grabbed for Wonwoo´s arm, holding him back, "Yah, are you tired of living? The fences have electricity on them!“_

_Shocked, Wonwoo staggered a few steps back, bumping into his friend. He was forgetting about the electric fences every time. "Foolish city boy," Mingyu mumbled and shook his head. ___

_Wonwoo turned towards him and stuck his tongue out. "Stupid village kid." The younger one grinned at that and Wonwoo´s heart made a leap. He had really missed his best friend with his silly comments and his annoying protective nature. He stepped forward and hugged Mingyu again, suddenly liking the size difference they had. He would never admit it, but he felt safe._

_"What are you doing?" the latter asked surprised. "Nothing," Wonwoo mumbled embarrassedly before stepping away._

_Mingyu smirked at him. "Ah, I know what's going on here. You missed me that much, huh? Could you hardly sleep the last few nights, looking forward to seeing me? Or do you even have to hold back your tears because I'm finally standing in front of you?"_

_Wonwoo frowned, grabbed for his suitcase and continued walking. "Shut up."_

_Mingyu laughed and rushed after him, wrapping his arm around the older´s shoulder. "I missed you too, Nonu."_

♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧

**October, 2019**

"Good game, Kim. Is your butt okay? You fell on it pretty bad." Mino asked, who was one of Mingyu´s teammates, bending down to him. They had just won a friendly match against a team from another city and the referee had whistled the game off a few seconds ago. 

Mingyu had exhaustedly laid down on the floor while the fans of their college were cheering and celebrating their team. They had hardly won with 85:82 points and it had been an intense match. Since they were the home team, they had some extra pressure to win. 

"I am okay," Mingyu replied and let his teammate help him up, even though he would have rather refused the extended hand. But he tried hard to act more friendy towards others these days after Wonwoo had begged him to behave. "I'd feel better though if it had also counted as a foul," he muttered, rubbing his butt, which would definitely have two or three new bruises by tomorrow. A player of the other team had attacked him really hard as he was about to throw the ball and the referee hadn't even pulled a face. Mingyu hated such unfairness -friendly match or not.

He was about to leave for the dressing room when he spotted Wonwoo walking down the stairs, heading in his direction. The older wiped his face with a towel and approached him as well. 

Although his best friend considered watching basketball to be boring, he supported Mingyu at almost every match. "Hey, congratulations," he let out and patted his shoulder with a smile. "Are you okay? Your face looks so pain distorted," the older asked as he stopped right in front of him, watching him carefully. 

"I'm okay. My butt has seen better days before though," Mingyu murmured, wiping his face with the towel again. Why did he always sweat like a pig? 

"Crappy referee. That was definitely a foul when he knocked you over like that," Wonwoo replied, while reaching for Mingyu´s towel, wiping over the younger´s forehead. "You forgot a spot," he mumbled and as his best friend was leaning towards him, the latter suddenly noticed how good he was smelling. 

"Dude, did you put perfume on?" Wonwoo gave him his towel back, looking at him irritated. "No?" 

Mingyu leaned forward to sniff at him again like a dog. "You have perfume on you, don't bullshit me." Wonwoo took a step back. 

"Yes, I did. So what?" his friend answered stubbornly, playing with the necklace, Mingyu had given him to his birthday. 

"Why?“ the younger asked curious. Wonwoo shrugged. "I don't know. I was just in the mood for it today, okay?" 

Mingyu looked into the crowd behind his friend to see if he could spot someone waiting for Wonwoo. The older never wear perfume before, so something seemed to be going on. Did he had a crush on someone? Was he seeing someone behind his back? Mingyu sighed. He was too tired after the game to give any more thoughts about it. "Anyway, I need to take a shower." 

Wonwoo nodded. "Should I wait for you and we walk back together?" 

"Actually the team wanted to celebrate with a beer afterwards so I guess I see you at home,“ Mingyu replied, patting Wonwoo´s head. He liked to do that, especially since he was taller than his friend. 

"Okay, see you then, but don't drink too much! It is not the weekend. And don´t get into a fight again!" 

-

Mingyu didn´t get into a fight but had clearly drunk too much. But it was not his fault because his teammates had kept giving him more and more beer after awhile. He could actually handle a lot of alcohol but he was sure that he really had too much this time as he was standing in front of his apartment and couldn't get the key into the lock. "Fucking door, just give me a hand, will you?" he snapped at the door. "Open up now!" The key just didn't fit into the lock and it was even harder to get it in with only one hand, since Mingyu needed the other one to support himself. 

"What's the matter?" As if by some miracle the door opened on its own, but when Mingyu looked up, Wonwoo was standing opposite him. He was wearing his pyjamas and his hair was tousled. "Cute," Mingyu let out before slumping on his friend. 

"Yah! You're too heavy," Wonwoo groaned, trying to maneuver his tall friend towards the sofa. 

"The bad door wouldn't let me in," Mingyu murmured, sitting down. 

Wonwoo stepped in front of him, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "How much did you drink?" Mingyu looked up at him and showed him four fingers first before adding two fingers with his other hand. "But I didn´t fight with someone," he added proudly.

"You wanna get a round of applause for that?" Wonwoo asked, and even in his drunk state, the younger could tell that his friend wasn´t amused.

"I just wanted one beer and then my teammates gave me more and more and since I am trying so hard to socialize more, I-" Wonwoo interrupted him. "Gyu, it's Wednesday and you have a lecture tomorrow morning. Are you crazy? Go to bed, I'll get you some water." 

Mingyu reached for Wonwoo´s arm before he could walk away and pulled him to himself with such force that the latter fell on his lap. "Yah!“ His friend tried to sit up, but Mingyu held him close to his body. "Don´t go." 

Again he noticed the fragrant perfume on Wonwoo. "You smell so good," he murmured, leaning with his nose close to his friend's neck to sniffle a bit more. 

"And you smell like shit, Gyu. Let go of me." Mingyu tightened his grip around Wonwoo's body, so the older couldn't move at all and was half sitting, half laying on his lap. 

"My butt hurts," Mingyu mumbled into Wonwoo´s neck after a moment. 

"If you let me go so that I can get off you, maybe it won't hurt so much anymore." Mingyu obeyed because that sounded very plausible at that moment and dropped his arms from his friend´s body.

Wonwoo stood up, straightening his pyjamas. "You are an annoying pain in the ass, when you are that drunk. Now go to bed." 

"Help me up pleaaaaase," Mingyu whined and stretched out his hand towards his friend. 

Wonwoo groaned. "You are really lucky that I have so much patience!“ He reached for the younger´s hand, pulling him up. As they walked towards Mingyu´s room, the latter sniffed at his friend again. 

"Who are you smelling so good for today??" Wonwoo opened the door to Mingyu´s room and pushed his friend onto the bed. "Why, jealous?" 

Mingyu placed his head on the pillow and could have fallen asleep immediately. "I'm always jealous and my butt hurts," he whined, turning on his stomach. „Tell me something new.“ 

"Can you take a look?" 

"Absolutely not. You can look in the mirror by yourself tomorrow," Wonwoo replied and threw the blanket over his head. "Sleep now." 

"Nonu!" Mingyu shouted and turned around on his back again. 

"What is it Mingyu?" his friend asked, who had already walked towards the door. "Can I have a good night kiss?" 

Wonwoo groaned again. "You are really unbearable when drunk, Gyu! No, you can't have a kiss, because you don't deserve it and you're not four anymore,“ he replied, crossing his arms in front of his chest while Mingyu pouted. 

"You don't like me anymore, I get it. Don´t worry, I am okay." The younger pulled the blanket over his head to continue pouting in peace. He heard footsteps coming towards his bed a few seconds later before a kiss was placed on his forehead right above the blanket. "How can someone not like you?" Wonwoo whispered before leaving the room. Mingyu fell asleep seconds later. 

-

"I hate you. Don't smile at me like that," Mingyu snarled at his friend as they were sitting at the breakfast table the next morning. Wonwoo practically had to drag his friend out of bed a few minutes ago. Mingyu´s head was roaring as if someone next to him was working with a jackhammer. 

"I warned you,“ Wonwoo replied, biting into his bread. Mingyu glared at him, taking a sip of his coffee. "Have you taken a pill yet?" 

"None of your business." Wonwoo laughed and threw a small tomato at him. "Yah! Stop it." 

The older stared at him boldy and took another tomato in his hand. "Wonwoo, don't play with food!"

„I am not,“ the latter replied but despite his words, threw the next tomato right at Mingyu again, hitting him on the nose with it. 

"Yah! That's enough," Mingyu shouted and jumped up. Wonwoo did the same, running away while laughing. The younger chased him through the whole apartment and although his head was booming, it was more important for him to get revenge at his friend. 

Before Wonwoo could reach the bathroom, Mingyu had caught up with him and pressed him against the door. His friend kept laughing while the younger looked at his squinting eyes and curling nose. He really knew Wonwoo´s face better than his own. 

"What are you looking at?" the older asked when Mingyu was just watching him silently. 

"Did you know you have a very small heart-shaped birthmark here?" he asked his friend, touching the spot on his forehead, forgetting about the revenge. 

Wonwoo reached with his hand for it. "Really? I know that there is one, but I had never noticed that it is heart-shaped,“ he replied. 

Mingyu tilted his head. "If you look from that perspective, it could also be a small butt.“

His friend pushed him away from himself. "Stop bullshitting. But speaking of butts, how's yours doing?" 

Mingyu rubbed his aching spot and sighed. "A real man shows no pain." 

Wonwoo laughed. "Well, only yesterday you talked quite differently,“ he replied and walked back towards the kitchen to clean up the table. "Bad Boy Mingyu wanted to have a good night's kiss. Give me a kiss or i can not sleep well, because I am still a little boy," he mimicked a child, pulling a snout. 

Mingyu approached him with quick steps and grabbed him by the chin. "You better watch how you talk to me. Until now I have always made an exception with you, but I can also teach you with my fists," he warned him playfully and Wonwoo bursted out laughing at that. 

The younger stepped away, wiping over his face. "Yuck, you spit on me."

"Sorry? And now, leave me alone. I have to be at the university in 15 minutes," Wonwoo replied and walked into his room. Mingyu grabbed a headache pill and swallowed it down. He had some lectures today and hoped that the pills would do their miracle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ♡♡


	5. FIVE

**October 2019**

It was the middle of the night on Saturday when Wonwoo was woken up by a loud rumble. Mingyu had left on Friday afternoon to visit his parents and would not return until the next day, so Wonwoo became afraid of the sudden noise in the living room. Was there a burglar in the apartment? But who would break into a students' building where there was probably nothing to steal? 

When Wonwoo heard the fridge door open and closed, he sat up. Either the burglar was very hungry or in fact it was really Mingyu who was back way too soon. 

The business student wrapped his blanket around his body and made his way towards the door. As he peered into the living room, he spotted Mingyu sitting on the sofa, holding a bag of frozen berries to his temples. The older dropped his blanket and hurried over to him. 

"Fuck, you scared me, Won," his best friend muttered as Wonwoo stopped in front of him and froze. Mingyu´s lip was burst open once again, he had dry blood under his nose, a swollen eye and there were a lot of alarming bloodstains on his shirt. "What the hell," Wonwoo let out and crouched down in front of him, reaching for the frozen berries to take a look at his friend's discolored, swollen cheek. 

"Mingyu!" The older one was suddenly wide awake. He had often seen his best friend with bruises after a brawl before, but this time he appeared to have been beaten by 3 people simultaneously. 

"What the hell happened?" Wonwoo asked worriedly and placed the frozen bag back on his friend's temple. "We need to get you to the hospital." 

Mingyu shook his head. "No. That's not necessary. I will be fine." Wonwoo stood up and sat down next to him on the sofa. "Gyu, your eye is completely swollen. Are you hurt anywhere else?" he asked and grabbed for his friend's shirt to pull it up. Mingyu flinched, but let him do it. The younger´s stomach was also covered with bruises.

"Mingyu, my God, what happened?" Wonwoo asked again, worried as hell. His friend kept silent as Wonwoo was checking out the size of his bruises on his stomach and couldn't decide whether to be super pissed at his friend or just concerned. 

When a tear suddenly dropped on his hand, Wonwoo looked up and the sight broke his heart. He had never really seen his best friend cry before -the few tears in the cemetery didn't count. The situation was too overwhelming for the older. What had happened? In the middle of the night his friend came back surprisingly early, completely beaten up and now tears were running down his cheeks? 

Wonwoo didn't know how to handle the situation at all -especially since Mingyu was just keeping quiet. The sad appearance of his best friend made the older lean forward, cupping his face with both hands and placing a kiss on Mingyu´s tearstained cheek. "Hey, talk to me Min. What happened?" he whispered worried because he was sure that his friend wouldn´t cry because of a common fight. 

Mingyu looked at him and his facial expression made everything in Wonwoo´s stomach tighten. He looked like a kinked puppy who had been separated from his mother, making his heart heavy.

"Min." Once again he leaned forward and placed another kiss on the other cheek. He didn't know how else to comfort his best friend at the moment. As much physical contact as they used to have with each other, they only gave each other a kiss in exceptional situations before, such as when they had to say goodbye before Mingyu´s relocation for example.

"My uncle was there," Mingyu finally replied and didn´t have to say more for Wonwoo to understand. "No one knew that he would come. He surprised mom and me at home." 

Wonwoo wrapped an arm around his friend, pulling him towards him so that the younger could lean his head against his shoulder. "He yelled at us before heading to the kitchen and started throwing plates and bowles in our direction, freaking out without a reason. He was drunk and when he attacked my mom, I saw red." Mingyu´s hand was resting on Wonwoo´s lap and the older reached for it, intertwhining their fingers together. 

Wonwoo knew that his friend´s uncle had also been a soldier. After he had retired, he had gone crazy and suffered a mental crack that he always seemed to control well with medication before -at least that was what Mingyu had always told him. "Dad went to the grocery store for a minute and I had to protect mom so I jumped on my uncle, starting to beat him. He was holding a bowl in his hand and started hitting my whole body with it." 

Wonwoo squeezed his friend´s hand as his anger grew. He had never met his uncle personally, but if he would see him, he would tear his eyes out. "When Dad came home he was able to keep him still, letting my uncle be picked up by some paramedics who took him away in an ugly straitjacket. It was terrible to watch." 

Mingyu raised his head and looked at Wonwoo from up close. While his friend was only inches away from his face and Wonwoo was able to count his eyelashes, his heart became soft. Whether he was 3, 7 or 12 years old -Mingyu was so important to him that it hurt him so much when he wasn't feeling well and the older wondered if it could still be healthy for his own heart, worrying that much about his best friend.

Wonwoo placed a hand on his friend's cheek and wiped away the tears before placing another kiss on the same spot. "I'm sorry, Min." Mingyu snuggled his head back in the crook of the older's neck. "Mom had asked me not to leave after the incident, but I couldn't stand it there anymore. The mood was unbearable and I was just happy that Mom wasn't hurt. I promised to visit them after a few weeks but at that time I just needed my best friend."

"I'm here, Gyu, but I really want to take care of your wounds now," Wonwoo replied and Mingyu leaned his head away. "I'll get the first aid kit quick. Wait here." 

Wonwoo stood up and hurried towards the bathroom where the first-aid kit was stored, which had to be refilled over and over again in this household, as it had been used more frequently than by average people because of Mingyu´s lifestyle. When Wonwoo returned to the living room, his friend had laid down on his back, his eyes were closed. Wonwoo looked at him and became infinitely sad. How much more did the two friends have to endure? 

The older crouched down on the floor next to the sofa and opened the first-aid kit. "Wonwoo," Mingyu called him without opening his eyes. "Hmm?" 

"Now I've got my good night kisses anyway, huh?“ he said and a little smile scurried over his wounded lips. 

"I wish the cause had been a different one," Wonwoo replied, pulling up Mingyu's shirt. 

"Can I have another one?" Mingyu asked suddenly and Wonwoo was taken by surprise by that question because his friend was not even drunk and usually didn´t act so clingy.

"I want to take care of your wounds first," Wonwoo replied, ignoring what Mingyu just said while the latter still kept his eyes closed. 

"Can I have another one afterwards?" Wonwoo looked up at him. His uncle must have given Mingyu a few too many punches on the head. 

"Gyu, are you sure you don't have to go to the hospital?" he asked him seriously.

Mingyu opened his eyes and glanced at him. "Funny that I had to think of you when my uncle was beating me up with the bowl, isn´t it?" the younger asked and Wonwoo was sure by now that his head must have suffered some damage. 

"Why did you have to think of me? I've never hit you before," he replied hesitantly while applying an ointment to Mingyu´s wounds. His friend had a proper six pack from playing basketball and probably the bruises would be a lot worse if he wouldn´t work out.

"That's exactly why. You're the only one who's never done anything bad to me. Even mom and dad used to give me a slap every now and then but you never hurt me once, not even when we were quarreling.“ Wonwoo looked up at him. „That is because I am the nicest person, walking on this earth,“ he joked but his friend´s expression was serious.

„Why are we actually friends Wonwoo?“ 

"Gyu, I really think you should go to the hospital. You're talking nonsense." Mingyu sat up. "No really. I am always so arrogant to others, I fight often and most people hate me for that. Why do you want to be friends with me at all? Is it only because we've been together since childhood and you've gotten used to me so you just can't get it over your heart to-" 

Wonwoo placed a finger on his friend's mouth to shut him. "Be quiet. Are you out of your mind right now? Lie down again, I wasn't finished with your stomach yet." 

Mingyu obeyed, laying down again and Wonwoo noticed a little pout on his lips. Sometimes the older would love to record his friend in such moments and then show it to all people, how adorable his friend really was. "Listen, I don't know what your sick uncle told you, but don't believe a word he said, okay?" he muttered as he continued taking care of the bruises. 

"You want to know why I am friends with you? No matter how angry and arrogant you are towards others, you were and always are affectionate and protective towards me. You always make me feel valuable and I feel safe around you. No matter how often I am angry and how often we argue, you are the most important person in my life and not because I have got used to you Gyu. Because just now you are showing me again how emotional and affectionate you can be and it just broke my heart to see you cry like that, so that I want to kill this prick for hurting you." Wonwoo explained without looking at his friend. 

"I'd really like another kiss now," Mingyu murmured and Wonwoo looked up at him. Since when was he so sentimental? He didn't even recognize his best friend anymore. Mingyu sat up and leaned forward. The older looked at his bruised cheek and swollen eye before pressing his forehead against his. He felt so sorry for the younger one. "Does it hurt badly?" 

Mingyu leaned away and placed a kiss on his forehead, causing Wonwoo´s stomach to tingle. "Don't worry. Nothing I haven´t been through before." 

Wonwoo nodded. "Sit still, I'm done with your stomach and need to take care of your face now," he said, cupping his cheek with one hand. Mingyu watched each of his movements, which made Wonwoo nervous all of a sudden. "Won." 

"Hmm?" The older was about to apply a cooling ointment on Mingyu´s cheek. He was slowly getting used to caring for his friend´s wounds. "Won." 

"What is it, Mingyu?" He looked at him as the younger one was already staring. "Please never be so mad at me that you don't want to be friends with me anymore." 

Wonwoo smiled and patted his cheek. "You need a round of sleep and a good rest. Tomorrow you'll be embarrassed when you remember what you said to me today. I'll get you some chamomile tea for your eye. Mom said that It helps against swellings." 

"Hey, I'm serious," Mingyu mumbled, reaching for the older´s arm to stop him from moving. "Please don't ever leave me, okay?" 

Wonwoo patted Mingyu´s head. "Why are you so cute today?" he asked before standing up, dragging the younger with him upwards. "Come on, I'll put you to bed, big baby." They walked into Mingyu´s room and his friend crashed on the bed immediately. 

"Won, I had a crappy day today and I'm still really sad. Will you please stay with me tonight?" he asked while looking at Wonwoo with his big puppy eyes and the latter wondered if anyone could resist that. „I know that I am really clingy tonight and this will not happen again too soon, but-“

"I'll lie down with you and wait until you fall asleep, okay?" Wonwoo interrupted his friend. Mingyu's bed wasn't exactly meant for two people, so the older was sure that it would be uncomfortable to lie there, pressed together all night. 

Mingyu made room for him and Wonwoo squeezed in after turning off the light. He could smell and feel his best friend and it somehow made him very sleepy all of a sudden. Wonwoo couldn´t remember the last time they were sharing a bed. It had been probably before Mingyu´s move out of the city when they were still really young.

"Thank you," his best friend whispered, reaching for Wonwoo´s hand in the dark. "But you still haven't promised to never leave me." 

Wonwoo turned on his side and even if he couldn't see anything, he was sure that Mingyu´s face was only inches away from his - after all, he could feel his breath on his cheek. "Gyu," he reached his hand forward and found Mingyu´s forehead, brushing his hair away. "Are you stupid? You are a part of my life, why should I ever leave you? Sleep now." 

The older wrapped his arm around Mingyu´s chest. "Big baby," he murmured, closing his eyes. The warmth which was radiating from the younger's body and his steady breath was soothing Wonwoo like a lullaby. After all, it was probably almost 2 at night by now. 

Mingyu turned on his side as well. "Don´t you dare telling someone about tonight or I'll hit you." Wonwoo smiled with closed eyes, caressing Mingyu´s arm. He didn´t want to get up. Not because he was tired, but because at that moment everything was so perfect. 

Wonwoo had to admit to himself that he preferred to squeeze himself in a much too small bed next to his best friend than to sleep alone in his room. "I wouldn't leave you even if they offered me 1 million," he whispered into the darkness after he was sure that Mingyu had fallen asleep and snuggled up against his friend's body.

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**March 2009**

_"How dare you just sneak off school grounds and go to the kiosk? That's not allowed! You know that!" The class teacher from Mingyu and Wonwoo was standing with crossed arms in front of the two friends, glaring at them._

_"We just wanted to get some snacks," Wonwoo replied with a quiet voice, his head was lowered._

_"I don't care what you wanted to get. You are not allowed to leave the school grounds unattended! What if something had happened? Then the school would have broken the duty of supervision." Miss Eungwoo was really angry and somehow aimed her rage at the older one._

_"You are such an outstanding student. What were you thinking, Jeon Wonwoo?" she asked him in a shrill voice, leaning over him, glowering._

_Mingyu didn't like that and he grabbed his friend's hand, pulling him closer to himself and away from her. "That was my fault, Miss Eungwoo. Wonwoo had nothing to do with it. I forced him to go with me," he said courageously, taking full blame for it. Wonwoo raised his head, glancing at him with worried eyes._

_"I know that you are behind this, Mingyu. You don´t have to tell me that. But Wonwoo has a head of his own and doesn't have to do everything you say. I can't understand how someone like you is friends with someone like him anyway. Mingyu only has a bad influence on you," the teacher replied angrily and Mingyu wondered if she was still behaving professional, talking to him like that. Mingyu was sure that she never liked him before and now she had a reason to yell at him._

_"Stop saying that!" Wonwoo suddenly exclaimed, glaring at his teacher, speaking for the first time since she had started scolding them. "I went along on my own free will and Mingyu is a great friend and you don't have the right to speak so badly of him," he snarled at her and Mingyu, who was still holding his hand, squeezed it briefly, being proud of his friend._

_"What did you just say?" Miss Eungwoo hissed at Wonwoo. "You little nine-year-old boy want to tell me what my rights are as a teacher?" Wonwoo seemed to be intimidated by her loud voice and leaned his body closer towards Mingyu, getting some distance from Miss Eungwoo._

_"I should probably talk to your parents again when they finally have time," she threatened and Mingyu pulled Wonwoo behind himself and stepped in front of his teacher, glaring at her._

_"I told you that it was my fault today, so stop yelling at my friend!" Miss Eungwoo laughed. "Friend? As soon as a girl appears you both like or a better place at a secondary school is found, you won't be friends any more. Life isn't always the way you think it will be when you're a kid." She took a step back and looked at them, more angrier than before. Mingyu was pretty sure that she wasn't allowed to talk to her students like that, but since she was the daughter of the headmaster of the school, she could probably afford some things._

_"You both have detention tomorrow at noon where you will write me a long essay about why you can't leave the school grounds." After she left angrily, Mingyu turned towards Wonwoo, who was pouting._

_"Such a stupid goat. Are you okay?" he asked his friend, whose hand was still in his. Wonwoo nodded, but kept pouting. Mingyu let go of his hand and nudged his finger against his sulking lips. "What is it?_

_"Is she right? Won't we be friends any more someday?" Mingyu couldn't believe that his friend was affected by the stupid words of their teacher. He put an arm around the older boy's shoulder and pressed him tightly to himself._

_"Even when we are as old as Miss Eungwoo or as old as her father, we will still be best friends! I would never trade you for anyone else or compete with you for anything stupid. Mom has always told me that you can always buy new things or replace things, but you either have a good friend for life or you lose him and you can't replace him with anybody else"._

_Wonwoo smiled at him. "We should write that in the essay tomorrow," he suggested and giggled._

_Mingyu grinned broadly. "I think that's a very good idea!“_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much happening in this chapter- just Mingyu and Wonwoo getting closer to each other, right? 🐶🐱
> 
> Thanks for the Kudos! ♡


	6. SIX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~Sorry, but Seungcheol is not really nice in this story~ 🙈

**August 2010**

_"You promised me you wouldn't cry!" Mingyu was angry. It was the day of his relocation with his family and Wonwoo was standing in front of him with big tears rolling down his cheeks. "Yah!“_

_Wonwoo didn't even pretend like he'd stop. "I really wanted to control myself, but I - I'm just so sad right now and can´t help it." The older wiped over his tearstained cheeks and Mingyu bit his lip to not start crying as well. He wanted to pull himself together because he had to stay strong for both of them right now._

_They had met in Kim´s garden to say goodbye as the younger´s parents were already packing the remainder stuff into their big car. "We will see each other nevertheless and constantly talk on the phone and-"_

_"But we will not see each other every day! I can't just come to you whenever I feel like it! So don't say it like nothing will change," the older one yelled while sobbing. Mingyu was silent because he knew that Wonwoo was right. Their relocation was the worst thing that could happen to the best friends._

_"You have to take care of you, okay? Don't let others fool you. And don't cry every day because I'm gone," Mingyu murmured and reached for the older´s hand which was already damp from wiping his tears away._

_Wonwoo had his head lowered, staring at the ground. Mingyu noticed how tears were dropping on his shoes and his little heart broke because of that. "Please stop crying," he whispered as he could already feel a lump in his throat._

_The younger raised his head, taking a deep breath. His cheeks were covered in tears and his eyes were reddened. „And you stop messing with everyone and getting into trouble, okay? And promise me not to do any stupid things that might endanger you," he replied and squeezed his friend's hand tightly. „And if you forget me, I'll come to your village and set all your cows on fire," he added with a pout which made Mingyu laugh._

_Wonwoo grinned as well before his lips turned back into a pout very quick. "I'll miss you so much,“ he whispered and this time Mingyu couldn't stop a tear rolling down his cheek._

_"Yah, look what you've done" the younger one scolded his friend. "Now I also have to cry.“ Wonwoo smiled and brought his hand up to his face, wiping away the single tears that had made it out of his eyes._

_"You will always be my best friend, no matter how far away you are!" the older said with a smile and Mingyu nodded in return before wrapping his arms around his friend´s shoulder to pull him into a big hug._

_The two best friends, who had known each other since the first year of life, were standing in the garden of the Kim´s, where they had played, laughed and talked together a lot, hugging each other for several minutes, trying to give each other some comfort._

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**November 2019**

"Come on. Please join me. We can take a lot of cash out of this." Seungcheol begged, while Mingyu and him were standing on the campus during a break. "We just have to stay outside and be on guard, nothing more. That is like the easiest thing ever!" 

Mingyu shook his head while the blonde was trying to persuade him to do something illegal. "Listen, I don't do that shit anymore," he replied while Seungcheol rolled his eyes. 

"Oh please, that's really not a big deal. We're not even the doers,“ he replied, staying consistent. 

"No, forget it. I'm out," Mingyu said and turned away. He had a lecture in five minutes, which he had been attending only once before, so he had decided to show his face again. 

"What kind of wimp have you become? Seriously, since you moved together with Wonwoo, you've really developed into a pussy. I don't think he's so good for you,“ Seungcheol called after him and Mingyu wondered if the blonde was tired of living.

The younger turned around and trotted back to him with slow steps. "Shut the fuck up! Say something about Wonwoo one more time and the thing you call a friendship between us, is over immediately,“ he growled angrily. 

"Dude, chill out. Wonwoo is my friend as well. I didn't mean it like that,“ he replied, trying to calm him down.

"Then don't say it. I have to go to the lecture now. Don't get yourself behind bars or do whatever you want." Mingyu had been involved in one or two illegal things in the past -before he reached adulthood. This was before he started college and also before he moved in with Wonwoo. Mingyu wasn't proud of it and it had been mostly harmless things, but he had sworn to never again take part in such illegal stuff again. 

"Hey buddy," Wonwoo joined the younger as he was about to enter the main building. His friend was already wearing his warm coat although it was only November, but he knew how much the older was freezing all the time. Wonwoo´s cheeks were already reddened and Mingyu was sure that if he touched his hands now, they would be ice-cold. "I got my grades from the two exams from last month. Guess what I got?" 

Mingyu stopped and stared at his friend who was grinning over both ears. For Wonwoo, he would refuse any illegal activity, no matter how much money would eventually come out for him. "Since when do I care about your grades?" he replied playfully, opening the door to the building. 

"I passed both tests with a very good," Wonwoo replied although nobody had asked. "That means I've definitely made the leap into the next semester and can't be kicked out any more." 

Mingyu placed one hand on his friend's head, patting him as they were walking down the hall together. "I'm proud of you, nerd. Do you want a kiss for that?" Ever since Mingyu had asked for a kiss when coming home from his parents a week ago, Wonwoo had teased him about it. Mingyu had no choice but to join in their playful banter and offer Wonwoo his kisses as well. 

The older slapped his arm away with a laugh. "No, I don't need them as badly as you do,“ he replied with a wink, forming a kissing mouth at him. 

„Just shut up!“ Mingyu crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked away. He had been totally embarrassed the next day, just as Wonwoo had predicted. But that evening, that night, the older's affection had comforted him and made him feel loved. His parents, of course, loved him too, but as they had been travelling so much when Mingyu was little, he had never received a lot of hugs or attention from them. Wonwoo was the only one at that time who had given him a lot of affection and physical contact, so he always connected family and home with his friend more than with his parents. 

"What did Seungcheol want from you earlier? Looked as if you had been angry with him," the older asked as they stopped in front of his lecture hall. "Nothing important. Sometimes he just gets on my nerves, you know?“

Wonwoo smirked. "Who does not get on your nerves?“ _You._ "I am telling you, you really don´t have any patience with other people.“

Mingyu pretended to yawn. "Tell me something new." 

The older nudged him in his chest before turning around. "I have to go now. You should also head to your lecture and don´t skip it again!" 

Mingyu waited until his friend was inside before walking back in the other direction. He was already late, so he didn´t need to rush. 

Since he had attended that lecture only once, the professor neither knew him by name nor did he react greatly to him when Mingyu entered the room ten minutes later. It was a big gathering with several students from different faculties and Mingyu noticed the female ones' glances as he walked past them, sitting in the furthest back. 

He hated theory and he hated learning -why was this associated with sports studies anyway? If someone would ask him how we wanted his studies to be than he'd say that he just like to stay on the basketball court every day, practising hard. 

A female student who was sitting in front of him, suddenly turned around, smiling at him with big eyes. "You missed something in the beginning, if you want I can give you my notes afterwards,“ she offered friendly. 

"No need to, thanks,“ Mingyu replied nonchalantly before turning his head back towards the professor. He was not stupid and knew he was good-looking. He had received love letters and flirting attempts from his comrades since elementary school, although he acted so unapproachable. Mingyu knew that the less he showed interest in others, the less they would try all the time and so far this has worked well. Strangely enough, his bad boy image never helped him to keep the girls away.

After the professor had talked non-stop for 40 minutes and Mingyu was already nodding off, his phone started vibrating in his pocket. He took it out while suppressing a yawn. The professor's monotonous voice didn't make the lecture any more interesting. 

Mingyu looked at his display. It was a message from Seungcheol: ´Come out quickly to campus, something's happened. It´s really urgent!´ Mingyu´s first thought was: Wonwoo. Didn't the blonde take the same classes as his best friend? Had something happened to him? 

He got up and ran out of the lecture hall, ignoring the confused look from the professor. The campus was huge, but they always met in the same place. When Mingyu arrived there after running like someone had stung him, Seungcheol was waiting for him with two other guys, which he had never seen before. "What happened?" the younger asked, still gasping for air. 

"We are doing it now. Let´s go." It took Mingyu a few seconds to understand what the blonde was talking about. "This are Daniel and Aaron by the way. They will join us." 

Mingyu shook his head. "Are you serious right now? You write me a message like something bad happened, getting me out of class just to tell me that you' re leaving now even though I told you I' m not going?" 

"Come on Mingyu, we need another man! It's 30 minutes maximum. Don´t be a pussy." Mingyu shook his head and stepped back. "No! Forget it and don't bother me with this bullshit ever again!" 

Seungcheol took a step towards him. "I hope you understand, that since you are now knowing about it, you're automatically a part of it." Mingyu grabbed the blonde by his collar, pulling him closer. "If you think you can threaten me, you better think about it again, asshole. Do your thing, but let me out of the picture! And don't let yourself be seen with us anymore! We are done!" He released him before moving away. 

"What a pity because I already told Wonwoo about it! And he is already on his way there to stop you. But if you won't be there, then maybe he can help us,“ Seungcheol yelled after him and Mingyu stopped. The blonde was bluffing. Wonwoo would never believe him. Or would he? 

What happened to Seungcheol anyway? He had never been a close friend, but Mingyu had partyed with him several times in recent years and thought he was a proper guy, but slowly he doubted his person. "You didn't do that!" he hissed and approached him again, glaring at the blonde. "Because if you did, then you know exactly how this will end Cheol!" Mingyu threatened with gritted teeth while the blonde was just grinning at him. 

"I had no other choice. So, are you coming with us or what?“ Mingyu pushed him away from himself and took his phone out of his pocket. He dialed Wonwoo´s number and walked a few steps away from the three guys. "Please pick up,“ he whispered, slowly panicking. After five rings, Wonwoo´s mailbox answered and Mingyu cursed. He decided to type a message to his friend: ´No matter where you are right now, come right back to campus! I am not joking!´ 

"Mingyu, what is it now? We're leaving," Seungcheol shouted over to him and the younger didn't even know what they were going to do. The only thing he heard was that he had to stand guard. For what kind of job? It hadn't interested him, because he didn't want to participate at all costs. But if Wonwoo was really on his way there and was in danger or would get involved in the criminal stuff, then Mingyu had to get to him. 

"You're so dead Cheol," He looked again at his phone before trotting slowly after the group. Just as they were about to leave the main exit of the campus, he heard running footsteps behind him. 

"Mingyu?" The younger one turned around and almost started crying out of relief. His best friend was rushing towards him, not wearing a jacket or his bag. He stopped in front of him and panted hard, clutching his phone in his hand. "What is so important that you get me out of my lecture? Did something happen?" the older asked him, still out of breath. As he looked behind Mingyu, he spotted Seungcheol and the other two guys and tilted his head. "Huh? What's going on?" 

Wonwoo was okay. Wonwoo was not in danger. Seungcheol had actually bluffed. As soon as Mingyu had sorted out his thoughts, he turned around, punching the blonde right into his face without a warning. The latter was so surprised that he staggered backwards and fell down on his butt. "Fucker!" Mingyu yelled at him, approaching him again. "What do you think you're doing, huh?" 

"Mingyu," he heard Wonwoo´s voice behind him, but he was too angry to react to him. He kicked his foot against Seungcheol's calves. "I told you I'm not doing this and you want to drag me into it by luring me with my best friend? How pathetic are you?“ he kept yelling at him. The blonde was laying on the meadow, holding his arms in front of his face in a protective manner. The other two didn't seem to like the situation and ran away -probably out of fear that Mingyu would beat them up as well.

"Gyu, stop it immediately! What's gotten into you?" Wonwoo muttered from behind and just as the younger was about to kick Seungcheol again, two arms were wrapped around his waist from behind and his best friend was keeping him away from the blonde by giving him a back hug. "Please stop," he whispered, squeezing his waist. Although he was raging, Wonwoo nevertheless managed to give Mingyu a tingling feeling in his stomach with this gesture. 

Seungcheol put his arms down and stared up at him. "You are my friend and I needed you. I had to somehow make you do it by-" Mingyu raised his arm to silence him -that's all he could do since Wonwoo was stuck to him like glue. "You WERE my friend. And now go away. If we see each other again, I don't know you anymore," he replied back with a hiss. 

Seungcheol stood up and something like regret flashed up in his eyes, but it was too late for that now. "And stay away from Wonwoo," Mingyu added, as the blonde walked away with grass stains on his butt. 

"What was that? What just happened here?" Wonwoo mumbled into his back and Mingyu reached for his arms to remove him away from his body. When he touched his bare skin on his wrist, he shuddered because Wonwoo was freezing cold. He turned around and brought his hand to the older´s reddened cheek. 

"You're freezing," Mingyu exclaimed before taking off his college jacket, putting it over his friend's shoulder. "You were the one pulling me out of lecture with that message!" Wonwoo accused him while Mingyu buttoned his jacket. "Did you just get me out to watch you beat up Seungcheol?" his older friend asked, probably completely confused. 

Mingyu was just happy that Wonwoo wasn't involved in Seungcheol´s bullshit and that he was doing fine. "What is-" The younger didn't let his friend finish, but pulled him into his arms, hugging him. His fluffy hair tickled his chin and that made him soft. 

"Gyu, what is wrong?" Wonwoo mumbled into his chest, but also wrapped his arms around his friend. "I'll explain everything, but let's go inside first. It is too cold for you," Mingyu replied before placing a kiss on top of his friend's head. There was no soul on campus because everyone was sitting in their lectures and so no one could see how bad boy Kim Mingyu was being lovingly towards his friend. And somehow the younger wouldn't have cared, even if the whole college had watched them right now. The other students should know that they were never allowed to mess with Wonwoo because there was Mingyu, protecting him from everything and everyone.

The younger let go of his friend and they trotted back to the main building. "I was worried that something bad had happened to you," Wonwoo muttered and when Mingyu looked over at him, his heart became soft again. His jacket was too big for the older, the sleeves formed sweater paws around his hands, his cheeks were still reddened and his hair slightly tousled after the hug. He was adorable. Mingyu guessed that his friend had immediately stormed out of lecture after reading the message although it was so important to him not to miss anything. He didn't deserve this precious human. 

-

"You didn't have to wait for me." Mingyu looked up from his phone as Wonwoo finally came out of his last lecture. It was already after 6 and the younger had decided to wait for his friend for an hour to go back home together. 

Mingyu had told Wonwoo everything what happened between him and Seungcheol and his friend had believed him without questioning anything. He liked how the older trusted every word he said, no matter how weird sometimes something sounded. Mingyu would never abuse that trust. 

"Don´t worry. I was playing with my phone and enjoyed the fresh air," the younger replied and got up from the bench. „Fresh air is an understatement. It is fucking cold.“ Wonwoo had pulled up the zipper of his coat up to his chin, already looking like he was freezing. He had promised him before to stay away from Seungcheol so that Mingyu would not have to worry. 

"Min, I wanted to tell you something else," Wonwoo stopped and turned towards to his younger friend. "I'm really glad you didn't get involved in such illegal shit. Although Seungcheol is or was a good friend of yours, I'm really happy that you didn't let him talk you into it." 

Mingyu smiled. "I told you I'd become a better man." Wonwoo grinned and put his arm around his shoulder. "I feel like having a drink tonight," he said and the younger looked at him in amazement. His friend never actually drank anything just for fun. 

"Shall we go for something to eat and a drink then?" he asked and Wonwoo nodded. "We should." 

They visited a food truck where people can sit inside, which was just around the corner from their apartment. As they sat down, a friendly elderly lady immediately came and took their order. Mingyu noticed how Wonwoo was looking at him after she had left again. "What is it?“ His older friend grinned. "What?“ 

Wonwoo shook his head. "Oh nothing." He did that several times currently, looking at the younger, smiling, but not saying why. 

The woman brought them noodles and beer after a short waiting time and the two friends ate in peace. After Wonwoo ordered the second one, Mingyu grabbed for his arm. "Yah, we said only one beer. I don't want to drag you home again." 

Wonwoo sulked. "I took care of you, too, when you came home completely sloshed,“ he replied and thanked the older woman as she handed him the second bottle. 

„I drink too much once in a year, but since you can't tolerate anything, you are really a pain in the ass when you are drunk on a regular basis," Mingyu replied but the older ignored him, already taking a big chuck while his eyes were not leaving his friend´s. "Since when do you drink voluntarily at all?" 

Wonwoo put the bottle down. "Maybe it's starting to taste good? And besides, I don't want to be someone who can't handle one beer, so I have to practice." 

Mingyu shook his head and took a sip as well. "As long as you only practice in my company, it's okay, I guess." 

"Why, jealous that I'd fall around someone else's neck?" his older friend asked and Mingyu wondered if Wonwoo was already tipsy. "That's not jealousy, it's concern." 

The younger stopped drinking after the first bottle because he had basketball practice first thing tomorrow morning and couldn't afford to get a hangover. He also had to take care of his friend as it seemed while the latter was already starting his third beer.

"You're jealous," Wonwoo mumbled and emptied the bottle as well. He raised his hand to call for the waitress again, but Mingyu grabbed his arm, lowering it. "Absolutely not! You have enough. Let's pay and go." Wonwoo stretched out his tongue at him and the younger wondered again how it could be that someone could get drunk so quickly. 

Mingyu paid for both of them and said his goodbye to the older lady while Wonwoo stood up and trotted outside as if it was natural that his friend was paying. "See? I'm not drunk _hics_ , I can walk without help“ Wonwoo let out, already staggering.

Mingyu rolled his eyes. "Not drunk my ass." He reached under his friend´s arm to steady him while walking back to their apartment. 

"You're jealous, aren't you?" the older asked again and Mingyu ignored his drunken friend. "You were jealous when I had perfume on _hics_ and you're jealous now because you're afraid I'm gonna go with someone else when drunk." Mingyu had to smile, but still wondered why he had worn perfume that day. 

"Why did you have perfume on you?" he asked, hoping that drunken Wonwoo would reveal more than sober Wonwoo. The older one stopped and nudged his finger into Mingyu´s chest. "Woah, rock-hard," he gaped and the younger laughed at his expression. 

"I exercise almost daily and you should know my well-trained body by now." Apparently drunk Wonwoo had forgotten, because he started to touch Mingyu´s shoulder, his chest and lowered his hands towards his stomach, causing the younger goosebumps although he was wearing his jacket.

"Yah, what do you think you are doing, groping me in the middle of the street." Wonwoo nudged into his abs and was amazed. Mingyu smirked at his friend´s bevavior before grabbing his arm to continue walking. It was cold.

"Gyuuuuu," Wonwoo whined as their building complex was finally in sight. "What is it?" Mingyu reached for his hand, dragging him along. 

"Gyu Gyu _hics_ Gyu." Mingyu rolled his eyes. Now his friend was really drunk. When they arrived in front of the building and he started rummaging for the key, Wonwoo leaned his chin on his shoulder from behind. "I like that you're taller _hics_ than me," he whispered in his ear and Mingyu almost dropped the key. Why was he suddenly so sensitive as soon as his friend got too close?

Mingyu opened the door and supported the older to get up the stairs. When they reached their apartment, he helped his friend to take off his coat and put down his bag. Wonwoo walked straight into Mingyu´s room. "Wrong door" the younger shouted and followed him as soon as he had hung up his own jacket. 

His friend had already laid down on his bed, looking up at him with a grin. "I'll sleep with you tonight." Mingyu groaned. Wonwoo was really unbearable when he was drunk and he doubted that he would be able to turn a blind eye with him. "Please go to your own bed. I have to sleep well today to be rested tomorrow," he begged his drunken friend, standing in front of him. 

Mingyu had not expected for Wonwoo to sit up, grabbing for his arm. Before he could resist, his older friend was already pushing him with a lot of force towards himself. The younger was able to prop himself up with his hands, but landed right on top of Wonwoo, their faces just inches away from each other. "Yah, are you crazy? Do you want to get in trouble with me, you-" 

Mingyu stopped talking as he noticed how his friend was looking up at him with fond eyes. "You are so pretty," the older whispered before placing his hand on Mingyu´s cheek, caressing it. The younger had only had one beer but suddenly he was feeling really drunk. He smelled the alcoholised breath from Wonwoo and yet he just couldn't get away from him like some force was keeping him on top of his friend.

"Why did you have perfume on back then?" he asked again and Wonwoo grinned. His eyes were roaming over Mingyu´s face as if trying to memorize every spot, altough he should already know the younger inside out. 

"You were in practice every day before the match and _hics_ we had hardly seen each other these days. I missed you and I have sprayed myself with a perfume _hics_ that smelled of cinnamon. You used to always smell of cinnamon when you were young." Mingyu looked at him and something made his stomach tighten. Whatever was happening between them right now, it was new and it scared him. 

"And how do I smell now?“ As Wonwoo raised his head to sniffle at him and they almost hit each other´s foreheads in the process, he leaned up towards the younger´s neck. When his friend touched his sensitive skin there with his nose, Mingyu rolled away from him. That was too much. That one beer must have really influenced him somehow. He just needed distance from his friend for the rest of the night. 

"Please go to your own bed,“ he begged Wonwoo as he got up, stepping in front of his friend again -a safe distance between them. 

"You no longer smell of cinnamon,“ Wonwoo mumbled, but remained seated. "Now you just smell like my Mingyu." Why did that warm his heart? That had to stop immediately. 

"I am not yours, but mine only,“ Mingyu replied stubbornly. „Now get up and go to your own bed,“ he added and grabbed his friend's arm, pulling him up successfully. 

"But I want to sleep with you," Wonwoo whined while the younger was dragging him out of his room. "Not today." He managed to get his friend into his own room and made him sit on the bed. 

"I can't believe that you got drunk so fast," he murmured before putting the blanket to cover Wonwoo up. 

"Good night kiss?" the older one asked as he snuggled into his cover. Mingyu didn't know what to do. "Please? _hics_." He made grabby hands at him and pouted. 

Mingyu groaned but guessed that a little kiss on the top of his friend´s head wouldn't hurt. He had done it before. The younger leaned forward and bent down to Wonwoo. Just as he was aiming for his head, the older stretched up his neck and placed a kiss right on the corner of Mingyu´s mouth. The younger´s heart started pounding twice as fast immediately and his whole body tingled. When he leaned away to glare at his friend, the latter had his eyes already closed with a soft smile on his lips. 

"You little shit. Doing things in a drunken state that you probably won't remember tomorrow and I have to live with your actions," he whispered and brought his hand to his own lips. He could still feel the older´s touch and that didn't necessarily lower his pulse. Mingyu had to get away from that guy as soon as possible. He turned off the light and hurried out of the room. "Fucking beer."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we have a drunk Wonwoo again and are moving forward 😉 I would be excited for the next chapter if I were you 😜😄
> 
> ♡♡♡


	7. SEVEN

**October 2019**

It was the night of Halloween. Normally, Wonwoo hated this day and he hadn't even been bothered with it as a child, but this time he was practically forced to go out. It was Hoshi´s birthday and he decided to go to a fair outside the city, which was especially constructed for Halloween. Wonwoo had no other choice.

Mingyu was also forced to go altough he hated Halloween even more, but for other reasons. His younger friend was not afraid of a lot of things, except horror movies, creepy characters, scary moments and heights. "I really don't want to go there," his best friend whined as they were sitting on the bus, heading towards the fair. It was already getting a bit dark and both were wearing warm coats. "I will definetely not go into the corn maze where all the freaks hide, scare people and will run after us."

Wonwoo looked over to his friend. He had his hair combed back and an annoyed expression on his face. Nobody would think that this guy was afraid of a Halloween fair. "I'll take care of you, don't worry, big baby," the older replied and placed a hand on his thigh. Mingyu stretched his tongue out, but grabbed his hand and pulled it away.

"We're not even that close with Hoshi, so why did he invite us anyway?" the younger muttered and Wonwoo grinned. His best friend would say anything right now just to find an excuse not to go there.

By the time they arrived, Wonwoo noticed that there were a lot of children and adults walking around, wearing ridiculous costumes. "I hate Halloween," Mingyu murmured and sighed as they headed towards the fairground. "Don't be such a grumbler. There's definitely something you'll enjoy there, too."

Mingyu glared at him. "And what exactly? The ghost house or the corn maze?" he asked sarcastically.

"Popcorn. There's definitely some delicious popcorn. You love popcorn!" Mingyu pushed his elbow into Wonwoo's ribs.

"Hey, there you are," Seungkwan approached them, wrapping his arm around Wonwoo´s shoulder. He had a clown nose on while wearing a red wig. "What are you dressed as?" he asked Mingyu, glancing over at him. "A stubborn toddler?"

Mingyu glared at him. "I'll be a murderer in a minute if you don't shut the fuck up." Seungkwan removed his arm away from Wonwoo and rolled his eyes. "Oh, somebody's in a pretty good mood today, huh?"

"He's just not up for Halloween. Be glad he's even here," Wonwoo defended his best friend as they started walking towards the snack bar.

"Whatever. Hoshi's already here, but he's still in the bathroom." Wonwoo took a look around the fair. There were different attractions for young and old and he was glad that it was not too cold today. He shoved his hands into his pockets and glanced over to his best friend while they were waiting for the birthday boy.

Since last week Mingyu was acting weird towards him. Wonwoo couldn't put a finger on it but his friend seemed to avoid too much physical contact all of a sudden. He had asked him if anything had happened when he was drunk the other night, but Mingyu hadn´t replied to that but just insulted the older, telling him that if he wanted to remember everything, he just shouldn't drink the next time like that.

"Hey guys," Hoshi exclaimed as he approached them. He was wearing bear ears on his head, grinning broadly. "Is this a children's birthday party or what?" Mingyu murmured and Wonwoo glared at him, before stepping towards Hoshi, hugging him. „Happy birthday, bro.“

„Thank you. I am happy that you came,“ he replied while Wonwoo stepped closer to Mingyu, pulling at his sleeve. "If you don't behave, I'll push you into the ghost house," he mumbled into his best friend´s ear as the latter flinched at that. Was he that jumpy already?

"So we should head for the corn maze first, right?" Hoshi asked excitedly. "It is only for people over 18, so it has to be really cool and scary." As they started walking, Wonwoo could already hear screams, coming out of the labyrinth. The fact that it was dark and there were some creepy figures waiting for them in there, gave the older a thrill.

As they arrived right in front of the corn maze, two girls were just running out of there, weeping. "Okay, so I'll get some popcorn and meet you afterwards," Mingyu said and waved, but Hoshi grabbed for his arm.

"You can get popcorn later. We're all going in right now!" Mingyu shook his head. "I'm not so into labyrinths."

"Are you scared?" Seungkwan asked, smirking. "No, I'm not. Wipe that stupid grin off your face."

"Perfect, then let's go inside. I got four tickets for us earlier already,“ the birthday boy said happily and turned away, moving towards the entrance. Wonwoo looked worriedly over to Mingyu, who was probably trying hard not to lose his cool facade right now. 

"If you're so scared, you don't have to go. I was just kidding," Seungkwan said after they gave their tickets to an employee of the fair.

"I am not afraid, so shut up. I'm going in your stupid maze," Mingyu replied as if it wasn´t bothering him at all, but Wonwoo knew better. Again and again they could hear screams and the sound of a circular saw. "What a bullshit," Mingyu murmured as they entered the labyrinth.

The path was pretty narrow so that only two people could walk next to each other. Wonwoo intentionally waited so he could be beside Mingyu. It was pitch dark and they only orientated themselves by the light from Hoshi´s phone. 

"Don't punch anybody who tries to scare you. There are also only people behind the masks," Wonwoo whispered towards Mingyu, who moved away and started to walk in front of him. What was wrong with him? Wonwoo couldn't do the least for being in that maze, so why was his friend giving him the cold shoulder now? 

As the older could hear footsteps behind himself, he turned around and spotted a man with a mask and an axe in his hand, following them. He ran forward a bit, pulling Mingyu along with him. "Don't scare me like that," his best friend hissed but as he turned around, he started to walk faster as well. Fortunately the actor took another turn and didn´t walked behind them anymore.

"We should split up here and see who will find the exit first," Hoshi suggested as they arrived at a junction a few meters later. „Great idea,“ Mingyu mumbled sarcastically but still they did as the birthday boy said and so he and Seungkwan went to the left while Mingyu and Wonwoo went right.

"Great, now I can´t see anything,“ his best friend grumbled and took his phone out of his pocket to turn on his flashlight. When the light came on, he screamed out because two zombies were standing right in front of them in the dark, not moving at all. Wonwoo stepped aside and reached for Mingyu´s hand to drag him along. Fortunately, the zombies didn't do anything but staring and after they passed them, Mingyu let go of the older´s hand again very quick.

"I didn't want to come here at all. I hate labyrinths and this one anyway," his friend muttered, while they were walking side by side. The younger reached for his hand again but Mingyu pushed it away.

"What's wrong? I just wanted to take your hand so you wouldn't be afraid," Wonwoo said, who was slowly getting mad at Mingyu´s behaviour towards him.

"Nothing. I'm not afraid and don't need a babysitter," the younger replied. They kept turning to the right and Wonwoo was wondering if they would ever get to the exit when suddenly a circular saw sounded right in front of them. As Mingyu raised his phone higher, they spotted a man all in black, standing in front of them. "Ready to die?" he shouted and Mingyu stopped walking.

Wonwoo shook his head and was about to walk past him as the man turned the chainsaw back on, walking slowly towards them. "We should rather go in the other direction," his friend suggested, but the older wasn´t in the mood to turn around and just wanted to pass the actor to get faster towards the exit. "Just walk past him, he won't do anything to you," he replied to Mingyu, who was still standing on the same spot.

The actor headed straight towards his friend. "Come here," the older said, stepping back to Mingyu, grabbing his hand. "Come on, he won't bother you." The younger let himself be dragged along, but let go of Wonwoo as soon as they passed the man.

"What's going on?" the older asked again, but Mingyu didn't answer him. "Fine, then just don't say it,“ he mumbled and walked ahead. He was slowly getting frustrated -not just because they couldn´t find the exit of this stupid maze.

Some more men with axes and chainsaws passed them after awhile, but somehow the actors didn't seem so euphoric anymore, not trying to scare them so much. They were probably tired after being in that maze for so many hours already.

After the next turn Wonwoo started to jump up, trying to look over the hedge. "The exit is close, but this way definitely leads back inside the labyrinth. Let's just climb over the hedge. I can´t stay here any longer,“ he suggested while Mingyu wasn´t looking at him but nodded. "Whatever," he just replied and the older one bit his lips so as not to yell at his friend, because he was behaving really like an ass right now.

"Will you help me up?" he asked the younger, who was already trying to climb up himself. "You can do that on your own. You can hold on to the hedge,“ he replied and now, Wonwoo had enough. What was Mingyu thinking, acting towards him like that?

"Yah!“ the older yelled and grabbed for his friend´s coat, pulling him back down to the ground as the younger one had already climbed halfway up. "What are you doing?" he hissed at him, lightning his face with his phone.

"What are YOU doing?" Wonwoo asked him back, knocking his arm away so the light wouldn't dazzle him anymore. "Can you please stop acting like an ass? I know you're not up for Halloween or this corn maze, but I can't do the least for it!"

Mingyu put the phone down, but it still gave enough light for them to see each others faces. The younger glanced away and Wonwoo gradually lost patience. "Yah! Can you please look at me when I'm talking to you? What the hell, Gyu? What is your problem?" the older asked and grabbed his friend's chin to turn his face in his direction.

Mingyu´s eyes widened and he took a step back, but couldn't move any further away because the hedge was right behind him. "I don´t have a problem, why are you pissing me off now?"

"What's going on with you? You've been acting strange towards me the last few days! As soon as I get a little closer to you, you jump away as if I were suffering from a contagious disease. And also today, I just wanted to help you and hold your hand and you push me away like I am one of your enemies. What have I done?" Wonwoo yelled at him. In the corner of his eye he noticed like a masked clown was walking towards them. He had no nerve for that bullshit right now.

"It's nothing, okay? Let's just go! You're just imagining things," Mingyu replied and Wonwoo knew he was lying. He knew every one of his expressions and right now he was showing him his I-am-hiding-something-from-you - face. "Fuck you. You can't fool me Mingyu. In case you forgot, I know you better than anybody else. Why are you lying to me? Why don't you finally tell me what's going on?"

Mingyu groaned and tried to move aside, but Wonwoo stretched out both arms and cornered him against the hedge. "Booh!“ the clown shouted next to them all of a sudden, but as neither of them reacted towards him, he walked away.

"Get away from me. I want to leave this fucking maze now," Mingyu hissed at him but the older shook his head. "Tell me what's going on first," he replied while his friend placed his hands against Wonwoo´s chest, pushing him away. He was still stronger than the other.

"Fine. Do what you want! I don´t give a fuck anymore," the older yelled at him and walked away without turning around again. Mingyu could climb over the hedge and break his leg for all he cared. What was wrong with the younger anyway, treating him like everybody else? Was he no longer good enough for him as his best friend? Had he done anything wrong? Mingyu was behaving so strangely since- Wonwoo stopped walking. Something must have happen last week, when he had been drunk. He couldn't remember everything, but he must have said or done whatsoever for his friend to suddenly behave so weirdly towards him.

Wonwoo groaned and turned around, heading back. Just as he was wondering if his friend was already outside, the younger approached him with quick steps, almost bumping into him. "Why did you just run away, huh? First you wanted to jump over the hedge and then you just run away like someone stung you! Fucking scary blokes are walking around here and we shouldn't separate so let's-"

"What did I do last week when I was drunk?" Wonwoo asked, interrupting his chatter. Mingyu closed his mouth. „Come on Gyu, I must have done something to make you act so weird towards me. I can't remember, so please tell me what I did so I can apologize," the older muttered calmly. He hated arguing with his best friend so much and when Mingyu had run towards him, looking as upset as a lost puppy, the older´s heart became soft again. It was so fucking hard for him to stay mad at his best friend.

"Mingyu." He stepped forward and reached for the latter´s hand. To his surprise, he did not pull away, but squeezed it.

"I'm sorry." He sounded so remorseful that Wonwoo immediately felt guilty for yelling at him before.

"Gyu, please tell me what is wrong,“ the younger begged him as his friend finally looked up, staring into his eyes. "You -"

Before he could answer him, Seungkwan and Hoshi were heading towards them. "There you are. The exit is right around the next corner," the birthday boy let out and wrapped his arm around Wonwoo´s shoulder, pulling him along. Great. What a timing.

When they finally got out of the maze, Wonwoo took a deep breath. It had been an agony. "Okay, I'm in the mood for a hot dog now," Hoshi said as they started to walk towards the next stand.

"Didn't you want popcorn?" Wonwoo suddenly asked his best friend, already grabbing for the younger´s arm to pull him away. "We'll be right back,“ he shouted to the others.

"What are you doing?" Mingyu asked him as they walked away from their friends.

"We weren't finished yet,“ Wonwoo replied, stopping next to a carousel. "So, what were you going to tell me earlier?" He tried to get an answer by glancing into Mingyu´s eyes, but that wasn't so easy since his friend was looking at everything else but him.

"Mingyu. Did I insult you? Did I hit you or throw up on your stuff? Did I-"

"You kissed me," his younger friend interrupted, finally looking at him.

"And then? I mean, this isn't the first time I've kissed you, so-" Mingyu took a deep breath. "Yes, but you didn´t kiss me there before,“ he replied.

"Where did I kiss you? On your- I don´t know, maybe on your shoulder?" Mingyu gave him a dull look before nudging his fingers against the older´s lips. "I kissed you on the lips?" _Why did I do that?_

"On the corner of my lips," Mingyu mumbled, suddenly acting shy like a little child.

"Okay. And what happened then?" Mingyu looked at him in surprise. "Nothing."

Wonwoo tilted his head. "So I kissed you on the corner of your lips and that's why you've been so distant to me the whole week? I really don't understand that. I don't have herpes and we often drink from the same bottle. Why is this such a problem for you?"

Mingyu turned his eyes away. "I have to think about it all the time." A goose bump ran over Wonwoo´s back. Why did his friend say that? Had he gone crazy? "W-Why?“

Mingyu shrugged. "I don't know why, okay? But I have to think about it all the time and that's why I keep away from you so I can distract myself." Wonwoo´s heart beat faster and he didn't even know the reason for it.

"B-but why do you have to keep a distance from me?" the older asked with a throbbing pulse in his ears. "Because otherwise I might want you to do it again," Mingyu replied and the younger one was about to faint. Could someone die from tachycardia? Certainly.

"It's crazy, I know, but I cannot change it. I am sure this weird feeling will go away again.“

Wonwoo could not look him in the eye. "But I am glad that we have spoken about it, because now I feel a lot better," the younger added and grinned at him before starting to walk back towards the others. Had his best friend gone mad? First he told him that he was thinking of kissing him and now he ran away as if nothing had happened? The worst thing of all was that Wonwoo suddenly regretted being so drunk that night that he couldn't remember the kiss.

He walked after his friend but didn't know what to say next. "Don't get any wrong ideas about it. It's probably just because your kiss surprised me so much," Mingyu said as Wonwoo caught up with him. "And don't act funny to me from now on just because I told you that."

The older pushed him in the ribs. "Yah! YOU´VE been acting funny to me all week so don't act so cool now."

"YOU kissed me and didn't remember it anymore so it was your own fault," Mingyu replied stubbornly and Wonwoo looked down to the ground, out of fear that his friend would see him blush. "Stop saying that so loud," he mumbled.

The younger´s thoughts went crazy. It was just a kiss in his drunkenness, but why had his best friend caused such a stir about it? And why couldn't he just forget it now? It was-

"Wonwoo, stop thinking about it," Mingyu interrupted him during his pondering, grinning. _Fuck you_. It was as if his best friend had passed the burden on to him. That wasn't fair.

"Shut up. I don't want to hear any more about it." Mingyu laughed. "I am sure I didn't say anything about it either. Besides, you really wanted to know and practically forced me to say it!“

Wonwoo pushed him away from himself, so that the latter almost bumped into another man who was walking on the street beside them, glaring at his friend. "Shut the fuck up! I forced you to tell me because YOU´VE been ignoring me all week, asshole!" Wonwoo replied after Mingyu had apologized to the man.

The younger put his arm around his friend's shoulder. „Yeah, yeah, it's all right. I said sorry for that already. Now let's go to the others and eat a hot dog. I'm really hungry."

-

After the four friends had eaten something and made fun of the costumes of other people at the fair, Wonwoo loosened up again and forgot the awkward conversation with his best friend from before. They had known each other since they were one year old and they should survive a stupid drunken peck on the lips.

Wonwoo stared at Mingyu as he was telling the others his story with Seungcheol. It seemed as if he was in a great mood again since he had confessed about the kiss to Wonwoo. He cursed inwardly that he had to think about that again. His eyes fell on his best friend's plump lips and his pulse rose. The older looked away immediately and tried not to let anything show.

"Why are you so red all of a sudden?" Seungkwan asked him and Wonwoo scratched his neck as all three pairs of eyes fell on him. _Damn you Seungkwan._

__"Huh? Am I? Maybe the hot dog was too warm,“ he replied lamely, feeling the piercing stare of his best friend._ _

____

__"Are you getting a fever?" Hoshi asked, who was always worried instantly, placing his hand on the older´s forehead. Annoyed, Wonwoo pushed it away and stepped aside._  
_

__

__"I'm fine. Can we please talk about something else now?“ Hoshi, whose face was already slightly smeared because of his bear make up, nodded. "Sure, I want to do one more thing before we go home. There's a scary Free Fall Tower here."_ _

__

__"Brilliant," Mingyu commented sarcastically. "You're aware I'm afraid of heights, aren't you?" he asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest._ _

__

__"Come on. It´s inside a building and it will be completely dark. You won't even notice that you're going up because you can't see a thing." Mingyu growled._ _

__

__Wonwoo had to smile. It really wasn't the younger´s best day. "Let's get it over with and then go home," he said and started walking. It was already after 10 and he was tired and it was getting colder outside._ _

____

"Yayyy," the birthday boy let out and got a punch in his side from Mingyu. Wonwoo was somehow proud of his best friend that he at least still behaved not like a complete ass towards their other friends although he hated everything that they were doing this night.

When they arrived at the Free Fall Tower, Seungkwan paid for the tickets and they went inside. There were hardly any people in the queue as the fair would close in half an hour.

Hoshi and Seungkwan got in and Wonwoo sat next to them with Mingyu in tow. They buckled on and before the older could even offer it to his best friend, the latter was already grabbing for his hand in the dark, intertwhining their fingers. He seemed to be back to his old self again, but why did Wonwoo now have a tingling sensation in his stomach? The older tightenend his grip on his friend. „Are you afraid?“ Mingyu asked.

____

__

„Shut up," he hissed and before he could say something else, the free fall tower ascended with such a violent jerk that he almost forgot to breathe. Mingyu held him tighter as creepy noises were coming out of the speakers when they halted at the top. 

"Wuhuuu," Hoshi yelled, who seemed to have the greatest time of his life. 

"Are you still angry that I only told you now?" Mingyu whispered into Wonwoo´s ear, touching his skin with his lips by doing so. That frightened the older more than anything else on this Halloween fair today. The whole night was cursed.

When they arrived back safely at the ground and surprisingly Mingyu hadn't screamed like a girl, the friends said goodbye to each other before heading towards the bus stop.

"Wonuuuuu, what's going on?" Mingyu whined and bumped into his side while they were waking side by side. "Nothing.“ 

The younger stepped into his way. „Tell me, come on.“

„Mingyu, we have to hurry, otherwise we'll miss the bus and the next one comes almost an hour later in this town," Wonwoo muttered and tried to pass his friend. 

"You're angry and you shouldn't ride in a bus when being angry," the younger replied, still blocking his way. Wonwoo had to smile for a moment. "Where did you get that bullshit from again?" 

"Wonu, what's going on, hm?" Mingyu asked, leaning closer to his face. When the older could feel his friend's breath on his cheek, he backed away. "Yah, stop this nonsense and let's move on." Why was everything tingling? Was it the cold? 

Mingyu sighed, but finally turned around and continued walking. "You'd feel better if you just said what is going on," his younger friend muttered and Wonwoo pushed him from behind. He had easy talking. He was the one who put this burden on him.

When they arrived at the stop and the bus wasn't there yet, Mingyu turned to him again. He couldn't see his puppy eyes right now. "Nonu," the younger whined, using his nickname from the old days. 

"Shut up." Wonwoo crossed his arms in front of his chest and took a step away from him. But Mingyu came closer again, leaning his head against his. "Stop annoying me, I'm tired," the older one hissed and moved away from him again. 

Mingyu sighed. "Bad excuse." 

While the bus was still not in sight after ten minutes and Wonwoo began to freeze slowly, he started to walk up and down, trying to warm himself up.

"Are you cold?" his friend asked him the obvious and therefore received no answer from him. 

"Come here, I warm you up,“ Mingyu offered with open arms. Normally, the older would accept the invitation immediately without thinking twice, because he knew how warm it would be in his friend´s embrace, but at the moment he really didn't want to. He could not trust his body right now.

"No need," he muttered and continued to walk up and down. As he turned around again, Mingyu was suddenly standing right in front of him, glaring at him. "Speak. Is it because I told you that I had to think about the kiss? Or are you still angry that I ignored you for a week because of that?“ 

Wonwoo closed his eyes for a moment. _Could he please not talk about it all the time?_ The whole topic was slowly driving him crazy. "It's nothing, okay? I'm just cold and I finally want to go home. When's the fucking bus coming anyway?“ he murmured and was about to look at the timetable, but Mingyu held him back by the arm. 

"Look me in the eyes and tell me it has nothing to do with the kiss." Wonwoo growled. "Why are you so annoying today? Can't we just drop the subject?" 

Mingyu shook his head, keeping his grip around the older´s arm. "You can't drop the topic yourself, otherwise you wouldn't be standing here in front of me like an annoyed teenager." 

Wonwoo tried to free his arm, but his best friend was stronger. "Let go of me. YOU ARE annoying." 

"Tell me what's going on!" 

"Stop being so persistent." 

"Wonwoo." 

"Shut up." 

"Come on!" 

"Fuck you!" he shouted at his friend and he finally let him go out of shock. "Why am I the one acting like a teenager now, huh? It was you who ignored me the whole week because of some stupid kiss. Why did you make such a fuss about it? And now you follow my every step and annoy me with your stupid questions. On top of that, I have to think about it all the time now because YOU told me that you can't forget it! Why can't you forget it? Was the kiss so nice?“ he shouted at his friend, moving closer to him.

"I can't remember it at all! And that annoys me, okay? Because I would like to know what is so unforgettable about it! So shut your mouth and don't mess with me. It is not bearable with you today. I-" He couldn't talk any further. Why? Because his stupid friend bent over and crushed his stupid lips on his. The air to breathe was immediately gone and Wonwoo´s whole body was tingling so hard that he felt as if he would ascend into the atmosphere any moment.

After Mingyu leaned away but remained only a few inches in front of his face, Wonwoo immediately missed his touch. "That's how it felt. Are you satisfied now?" his younger friend whispered. Wonwoo fluttered his eyes open and some force caused him to lean towards his friend again, but when the headlights of the bus suddenly dazzled him, he stepped back.

"The bus is here," Wonwoo whispered the obvious and Mingyu nodded while he seemed to be in a trance just like himself. 

It had only been a short kiss and Wonwoo was very scared of how he had felt and he was even more scared that he had leaned forward and wanted to kiss his best friend again.

They got on the bus, sat next to each other and kept silent. Wonwoo´s heart pounded so fast that his ears were hurting. What was that? And why did he feel that way? He was so confused, almost feeling sick. 

The older didn't even dare to look over to his friend. Did Mingyu just want to show him what it had felt like or was there more behind it? Did he have more feelings for him than just friendship? That could not be. 

When they got out of the bus fifteen minutes later, they had not exchanged a single word. Even as they were walking back to the apartment, they remained quiet and could only hear the passing cars and rumbling drunks. 

They arrived home, said good night to each other and went to their rooms. Only half an hour later, when Wonwoo was laying in his bed with all lights out, his heart started to slow down again.

**October 2006**

♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧

_"What are you doing?" Wonwoo asked, who just walked out into the Kim´s garden._

_"Hello Nonu, I am carving my pumpkin. Mom said I am old enough now to do it myself with the little knife." Wonwoo sat down at the small garden table next to his friend. "Can I also try it?"_

_Mingyu nodded. "Yes, I'll finish the mouth first, then you can try it as well."_

_The younger was trying to carve a tooth into the pumpkin when suddenly the dull garden knife slipped out of his hands, causing him to cut his finger. "Ouch," he let out and dropped the knife on the table, shoving his finger into his mouth._

_"Oh no, Min," Wonwoo reached for his arm. "Let me look."_

_Mingyu shook his head while his index finger was still in his mouth. "Let me see if it's not too deep," Wonwoo demanded._

_The younger obeyed and pulled out his finger, extended it towards his best friend, but turned the other way, not looking at it. He couldn't see any blood and certainly not his own._

_Mingyu glanced back as he felt Wonwoo placing his hand around his finger. "It only bleeds a little. You have to apply pressure to stop it, dad taught me." The younger nodded._

_After awhile his best friend let go of his finger again and the bleeding had actually stopped, since the cut wasn't very large. "Do you want to carve the pumpkin now?"_

_Wonwoo shook his head. "But you wanted to." Wonwoo shook his head again. "The pumpkin hurt you, I don't like it anymore. Let's play something else." Mingyu smiled and nodded._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my..somehow I have the feeling that I rushed at some parts of this chapter a little too much...I hope that it was still readable and smoothly. 
> 
> And yay, they kissed again and look how confused everyhing is right now 🙈
> 
> I am always very thankful for your Kudos and comments! 💜💚


	8. EIGHT

**April 2013**

_"Hi, Wonwoo."_

_"Hey." Wonwoo´s Mother had just called her son on the phone as his best friend had called on a Saturday afternoon. "How are you?"_

_"Good. Good. I'll look forward to seeing you in two months."_

_Mingyu laughed. "Do you already miss me and count the days?"_

_"Shut up, I'll hang up right now."_

_Mingyu laughed again. "Wait, wait. I have something to tell you. Do you remember Sani? My classmate?"_

_Wonwoo nodded although nobody could see him. "What about her?"_

_"She kissed me today."_

_Something caused a twinge in the heart of the older one. "Okay."_

_"Okay? Is that all you're saying? It was my first kiss!"_

_"Did you like it?"_

_"What?"_

_"Did you like it?"_

_"I don't know. It was so sudden and not long. But I am not into her, so I think I didn't like it. But it was my first real kiss."_

_Wonwoo played with the phone cable. "Okay."_

_Silence. "Won?"_

_"Hmm?"_

_"Are you jealous?"_

_"What?"_

_"You're jealous. Why else are you so silent all of a sudden?"_

_Wonwoo cleared his throat. "Are you stupid? Why should I be jealous? I don't even know this Sani!"_

_"You're jealous not because of her, but because of me, right?"_

_Wonwoo looked in the mirror next to the phone and noticed that he was blushing. "Shut up. Why should I? I don't give a fuck who or what your lips touch!"_

_Mingyu laughed. "Calm down. I am only teasing you. Besides, I kissed you first."_

_Wonwoo let go of the phone cable. "What?" He would know something like that._

_Mingyu laughed. "When we were seven and you were sick for 3 weeks. I was with you almost every day, remember?"_

_Wonwoo nodded. "You were so worried about me that you wanted to stay in my room for the rest of your life. My mother had to drag you out every day."_

_"Yes, yes, whatever. When you had such a high fever, I sat next to you on the bed and you had your head on my shoulder. I was about to leave and you held me back. I turned to you and wanted to use my lips to check your forehead for your temperature and then you lifted your head and we kissed for a milisecond. Well technically it wasn´t a kiss, but our lips touched."_

_"You're lying."_

_"Why would I make something like that up?"_

_Wonwoo looked at himself again in the mirror and hated the fact that he was blushing. "Why didn't you tell me before?"_

_"I don't know, I didn't think it was necessary. But now you know that you don't have to be jealous because you were the first."_

_"Shut up."_

_"I have to go now," Mingyu mumbled with a laugh. Why was he having so much fun because of that?_

_"I don't care."_

_"Love you too."_

_"Shut up." Mingyu hung up and Wonwoo left the phone at his ear for a while. Why did his heart beat faster all of a sudden?_

♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧

**November 2019**

As Mingyu woke up the next day, he decided not to go to university. It was Friday and he would only have one lecture anyway, which he could easily miss. He had no room in his head for study at all because too many thoughts were running through his mind. What had happened last night -apart from the fact that it was the worst birthday he have ever attended?

He laid on his side and groaned. Why had he only kissed his best friend yesterday? How stupid could he be! But thinking back, he immediately got another tingling sensation in his stomach and that freaked him out. 

It had been so awkward afterwards, especially because they hadn't talked to each other anymore. The kiss had been so nice. Short but breathtaking. Mingyu groaned again and threw the blanket over his head. 

When there was a knock on his door and his best friend suddenly entered, he pulled the cover away. "Hey, morning, ehm, I'm going to university now so- I just wanted to make sure y-you didn't oversleep," Wonwoo mumbled, already having his bag around his shoulder, ready to go. 

"Thank you, but I'm staying in today," the younger replied while both of them couldn't look each other in the eye. 

"Oh, okay. Then, see you this afternoon or some other time," his best friend replied before closing the door behind him. Mingyu shut his eyes and covered himself again. What an awkward conversation was that? He absolutely had to clear it up with his friend, otherwise he would go crazy. 

He shot out of bed and rushed out of his room, hoping that Wonwoo hadn´t left the apartment yet. "Wait," he let out as the older one already had his hand on the doorknob. 

"Oh? What is it?" his friend turned to him and suddenly started blushing as he looked at the younger. Mingyu scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, remembering that he was only standing there in his boxers. But Wonwoo had even seen him naked, so that wasn't supposed to be a problem after all. 

Mingyu took a deep breath before stepping closer towards his best friend, who suddenly seemed very interested in the strap of his bag. "Wonwoo." The older looked up at him and he hated that this issue was between them. "Can we just forget the whole last week please? I hate this awkwardness between us and it doesn't suit us at all- and it really kills me right now." 

Wonwoo sighed and nodded. "I can't stand it either, Gyu." 

The younger smiled. "Good. I shouldn´t have ki-" 

"It's okay. Let's just not talk about it anymore,“ his friend interrupted him, smiling. 

"Okay, then let's hug and forget it,“ Mingyu suggested, spreading out his arms. His friend seemed to hesitate for a moment, but returned his hug with a sigh. The younger one enjoyed the closeness of Wonwoo. It was his own fault that they had had so little physical contact in the last few days and now as he was having his friend in his arms, he did not want to let him go. 

"Gyu." Mingyu smelled the older´s shampoo and could hear his heartbeat which almost lulled him back to sleep. "Gyu!" Wonwoo mumbled again into his chest. "I have to get to my lecture. You can let me go now." 

As the younger released his friend, the latter was still blushing, but smirked up at him. "See you later." 

Mingyu waved after him and closed the door before leaning against it, breathing deeply. He needed to go for a jog to clear his mind.

After he changed his clothes and went outside, he could only jog a few meters before his phone started vibrating in his pocket. "Hey, Dad, what´s up?" 

"Mingyu, listen, your uncle broke out of the asylum." Mingyu stopped. "What do you mean with asylum?" 

"They had put him in one after the last time when it escalated at our home. The pills he'd taken so far didn't seem to work anymore." 

"You are telling me that really early, dad," Mingyu let out sarcastically. 

"Whatever. He escaped two days ago and they can't find him. He hurt two guards and seems to be really unpredictable." 

"Okay, that doesn't sound good. Do you think he could break in your home and do something to you or Mom?“

His father was silent for a moment. "Son, we are rather worried about you. He must have blamed you for the way you attacked him when you were here and-" 

"He wanted to hit Mom!“ Mingyu interrupted his father.

"I know, I know. Still, they found some notes in his room at the asylum where he sketched you with- let's say he's pretty mad at you. He knows where you live. You told him that last year when you moved in with Wonwoo, remember?" 

"Dad, don't worry. Uncle Wu won't make the 250 kilometers for me. How is he going to manage that without a car or money?“ His father was quiet again for a moment. 

"I hope he won't make it, son. I just want you to be careful and always lock the doors." 

Mingyu nodded although his father couldn't see him. "It's going to be alright, Dad. They will find him soon for sure.“ 

"I hope so. Your mother just said I should give you a warning." 

"Okay. Thank you. Tell Mom I said hi." After Mingyu hung up, he finished his round and went back to the apartment. He didn't worry about his uncle at all. He was sure that the latter would never make it to his place and why should he? Arriving home, Mingyu went straight into the shower. 

-

As he came out again, walking into the living room, Wonwoo was entering through the front door. The younger one was glad that he had decided to put at least a towel around his waist. "Hey, back already?" 

Wonwoo placed his bag on the dining table. "Yes, Professor Zen is sick and her lecture has been cancelled. I visited the library for awhile and here I am again.“ 

Mingyu ran his hand through his wet hair. "There was some weird guy out there in front of the building and he was just ranting at me," his friend added and plumped on the sofa. 

"What kind of guy?" Mingyu asked, already getting angry that someone dared to mess with Wonwoo. 

"I don't know. Looked like a homeless guy. I thought none of them were allowed to wander around here.“ Mingyu sat down on the sofa as well and looked at Wonwoo. After his father had called him, the worst ideas immediately came to his mind. 

"What did he look like?“ Wonwoo stared at him, before turning on the TV. "What?“ he asked him confused. 

"What did he look like?“ Wonwoo let out a chuckle. "What the fuck does it matter?" 

"It's important to me, so say it," the younger replied, reaching for Wonwoo's arm, causing the latter to nearly drop the remote in surprise. 

"What's the matter with you? A short bald guy. Why? Are you looking for a boyfriend?" Mingyu´s uncle was tall and had a lot of hair. "Shut up,“ he muttered and leaned back relieved. 

"Why is that so important?" Mingyu shrugged. "Oh, nothing. My uncle broke out of the asylum and my father's afraid he's gonna find me, so for a moment I was thinking that maybe that homeless dude was him." 

Wonwoo widened his eyes, placing the remote control on the table. "What?" 

"Yeah, he told me on the phone earlier, but my uncle will never go that far just to get to me." 

The older looked shocked. "Why would he even want to come to you?" 

"Dad says they found some stupid sketches he made of me in the asylum," Mingyu replied, before reaching with his hand towards his friend's forehead. "Relax, you are getting worry wrinkles again. It's all good." 

Wonwoo shook his head. "How can I not worry? I didn't even know he had to go to the asylum at all." 

"I heard it for the first time today as well." Wonwoo closed his eyes and the younger stared at him. His gaze fell on his friend's lips and his heartbeat accelerated. He cleared his throat, standing up. "I'm going to get dressed." 

"And blow-dry your hair. It's freezing cold, you just get sick," the older said absentmindely. 

Mingyu had just enough time to put on his pants as Wonwoo stormed into his room all of a sudden. "Didn't you ask if they had a clue where your uncle might be?" 

"Can you please knock before you come into my room?" the younger asked, watching how his friend was sitting down on his bed while Mingyu put on his shirt. "No, I didn't ask dad because I don't care. They will find him. Where is he supposed to go without money anyway?“

Wonwoo groaned. "Gyu, sick people manage even more unbelievable stuff. All he has to do is hitchhike and then hold a knife in front of someone's neck so they can drive him here." 

Mingyu was combing his hair while looking at him. "Have you watched another horror movie?" 

"Gyu, I am serious!" The younger put down the comb and crouched down in front of his friend. He reached for the older´s hand, smiling up at him. "Don't worry. Even if he would come, I could fight back, okay? I'll punch him once and he can't stand up anymore." 

Wonwoo pouted and Mingyu thought it was incredibly cute. He placed his hand on his cheek, caressing it. When he felt the piercing eyes of his friend on him, he swallowed hard. He couldn't look away and everything in him tightened. 

"I'm worried about you,“ Wonwoo whispered, causing the younger´s heart to flutter. He didn't know if he was just imagining it, but his friend was leaning his face down to him. "What are you doing?" he asked surprised. 

"I don't know,“ his friend whispered, but stopped a few centimeters in front of him. Mingyu went crosseyed, still dazed by Wonwoo´s shampoo. 

"I have to go to the bathroom," the older muttered all of a sudden, jumped up and hurried out of Mingyu´s room. "What was that again?“ The younger got up and just as he followed him outside, the doorbell rang. 

He walked towards the entry phone, assuming that probably it was the homeless guy. „Who is there?“

„Mail." Mingyu was surprised because he hadn't ordered anything, but opened the door anyway. In front of him stood no mailman, but actually his uncle. 

"Hi, nephew. Look who's visiting you from far, far away." He was wearing an old, worn brown coat and a black beanie. Before Mingyu understood what was happening, he pushed him into the apartment, stepping inside. Mingyu was so perplexed that he was like frozen while his uncle was closing the door behind himself.

"What are you doing here?" the younger managed to let out as his uncle laughed at him. "I know you're happy to see me, so don't look so shocked," he replied, sitting down on the sofa. 

"Get the hell out of here or I'll call the police." His uncle laughed. "And what will you tell them? That your family is visiting you?" 

Mingyu stood in front of him. "I will tell them that the guy who escaped from the asylum is sitting on my fucking sofa!" 

His uncle's eyes flashed at him malignancy. "So your useless father already told you, huh? Well, bring me a glass of water first. I'm thirsty." 

Mingyu reached into his pocket to get his phone out. "I wouldn't do that," his uncle yelled at him. "If you dare to call the police, I'll beat you up until they get here," he added and jumped up from the sofa. The younger took a few steps back. 

"What's going on here?" Wonwoo walked into the room, stepping next to Mingyu. Immediately the other positioned himself right before him. 

"Oh, look at that. Wonwoo, right? Finally we get to know each other," his uncle said in a friendly voice, approaching him. 

„Go away now!" Mingyu yelled at him, shielding his friend. 

"Gyu, who is that?" Wonwoo asked while trying to move away. 

"I am Uncle Wu, Mingyu is my nephew. So we are family. I'm surprised we've never seen each other before, since you two have been so close since childhood." 

"Fuck off. I'll call the police immediately, so get out," the younger snarled at him.

His uncle reached out and slapped Mingyu really hard. "Shut the fuck up. Can't you see I'm talking to your friend right now? How rude are you?" 

The younger brought a hand to his throbbing jaw. "YAH!" Wonwoo shouted from behind and released himself from Mingyu´s grip. "What do you think you are doing, hitting him?" he yelled at his uncle, standing next to the younger one. 

"He deserved it! A lot of beatings actually," his uncle shouted back, approaching Wonwoo. 

Mingyu pushed his body between the two. "This is the last time I ask you to leave. If you don't get out immediately, I'll call the police and you'll be back in the loony bin,“ he threatened him. His uncle smelled of alcohol and Mingyu wondered how he had made it here in the first place.

He slapped him again without warning and the younger lost his patience. He grabbed for his uncle´s ratty collar, punching him right in the face. "How dare you beat your family?“

"You are threatening mine!" Mingyu yelled at him while dragging him towards the door. Wonwoo rushed forward and opened it with his phone on his ear.

"Who do you think you are you calling?" his uncle yelled at his best friend, reaching his arm out for the older, but Mingyu pushed him so hard that he stumbled outside.

"The police are on their way fucker. Have fun in the asylum!“ he yelled after him as he heard Wonwoo talking to the police on the phone.

Mingyu shut the door before leaning against it, closing his eyes while Wonwoo was hanging up.

"What did the police say?" the younger asked with his eyes still closed.

"They said it was right that we kicked him out of the apartment and they will send a patrol for the area to get him."

„What a-" Mingyu stopped talking when he felt Wonwoo´s cold hand on his throbbing cheek. He opened his eyes and the older one was standing right in front of him, gazing at him with a fond expression. 

"Mh, your cold hand feels nice," Mingyu mumbled and leaned his cheek even more against it." 

Wonwoo smiled. "You are such a puppy. But are you all right?" 

"I can't believe he really came," the younger muttered and placed his hand on the older´s. He looked at his friend´s soft eyes, the slope of his nose and then his gaze fell on his lips. Some force drew him closer towards him. 

"What are you doing?" Wonwoo asked quietly. 

"I really don't know,“ Mingyu whispered while his heart was already flipping. 

"Gyu," Wonwoo mumbled in a warning tone as the younger one leaned further and further towards his face until their nose tips were touching. 

"I'm sorry," Mingyu let out, considering what he was about to do next. He just couldn't stop it. 

"Mi-" Wonwoo was not able to utter his friend´s full name as Mingyu closed the distance, pressing his lips onto his. Fireworks broke out through his whole body and he couldn´t understand why he was feeling such a sensation while kissing his best friend. 

After a few seconds he leaned his head away and crushed his forehead against Wonwoo's, whose cheeks were slightly reddened. "Sorry." 

"What are you doing?" the older one asked breathless. 

"Sorry," Mingyu apologized again before leaning forward once more, placing another kiss on Wonwoo´s soft lips. He was drawn to him like a magnet. 

"Mingyu," the older whispered and put his hands against his shoulder to push his friend away from him. His chest raised and lowered quickly. At least the kiss seemed to do something to Wonwoo as well. "Why are you kissing me?" he asked him with reddened cheeks. 

"I don´t know. My body is just doing whatever it wants. I really don't know, Wonwoo. God, I'm sorry. Earlier I told you we should forget everything and now I'm doing it again." Mingyu stepped away frustratedly.

"Maybe my uncle's visit confused me so much. I don't know. But it is the most beautiful feeling, kissing you and I don't know why and it frightens me, but I-" Wonwoo interrupted him by approaching him and was now placing his lips on those of the younger ones first. Mingyu's body was tingling from head to toe while he placed his hand on his friend's cheek, tilting his head to return the kiss. 

Before the younger could shove his tongue into his friend's mouth, he pushed him away. "What are we doing here?" Mingyu gasped as if he had suddenly come to his senses again.

"You started it," Wonwoo accused him while breathing heavily. "I-I'm-" 

"What Mingyu, what?" the older replied frustrated. "You can't just do what you want without thinking about the consequences. We kissed. Now we should talk about it." 

Mingyu didn't want to talk about it. Wonwoo was his best friend, almost like his brother and all of a sudden- everything was just so confusing. Did he have romantic feelings towards the older one? He shook his head and took a step back.

"No, no, no. You are to blame. You kissed me last week and then everything went down the drain,“ he accused his friend while the latter walked towards him. 

"Gyu, just tell yourself whatever you want. But if you would feel nothing, then my drunken kiss would never have burdened you so much. And you wouldn't have kissed me at the fair yesterday and definitely not today." Mingyu knew that Wonwoo was right. Something strong was pulling him towards his friend, which he couldn't stop. 

"My kiss may have been the trigger for something that's been slumbering inside you for a long time." In him? 

"Oh, now it's me alone? Why did you just kiss me, huh? What is slumbering in you, Jeon?“ Mingyu asked annoyed. He didn't want to talk about it at all and everything was upside down. 

Wonwoo also seemed to be angry as he took another step towards him, standing before him. "I don't know, okay? But suddenly every time you get too close to me my whole body tingles all at once and every time you smile my stomach twists and I get goose bumps when you touch me.“ Mingyu swallowed. His friend reacted to him the same way he did the other way around. What was happening? 

"Maybe we're just friends whose bodies have a high attraction to each other. What do I know?“ Wonwoo added frustrated and the older hated the whole situation. Even more he hated the fact that he could have kissed his best friend again. Where did that damn urge was coming from? 

"Gyu! Did you just look at my fucking lips again?" Wonwoo asked him in disbelief and Mingyu felt caught but nodded honestly. His friend blushed again, but glared at him. "Gyu! That is not normal! What is happening here?“

"I do not know!“

"Maybe we need some distance?" No! "What?" 

Wonwoo shrugged. "Maybe we need distance from each other to figure out what's going on?" 

Mingyu couldn't believe what his friend was suggesting. He stepped up to him and grabbed both of his arms. "Are you trying to make me laugh? We were fucking separated from each other for eight years and now we're not even 12 months together again and you want distance?“ He wanted to shake Wonwoo until the other one would come to his senses again. 

"What else should we do? It can´t stay so embarrassing between us. And will you now just always kiss me if your body wants it?“

"Why not?" 

"What?“ Mingyu took his hands away from his friend. "Why don't we just continue to live like before? What comes, that comes. Why do we always have to explain everything?“

Wonwoo seemed to be thinking, but shook his head. "I can't do that. There are too many feelings behind it."

Feelings? "What feelings, Wonwoo?“ The older one felt caught. Mingyu knew this facial expression. "Nothing." 

"Do you have feelings for me?" he asked while his friend pushed him away from himself, blushing again. 

"Of course I feel something for you dumbass. You are my best friend! What do you think?“ 

Mingyu laughed at him. "But do you have more than friendly feelings for me?“ 

The older widened his eyes. "What are you talking about?“ Mingyu laughed. This situation was so messed up that he had no choice but to make fun of it. 

"Shut up!" Wonwoo glared and stepped towards him, placing his hand on the younger´s mouth so that he wouldn't laugh anymore. 

"Fine. We just leave it like that and don't talk about it anymore. But I forbid you to just kiss me whenever you feel like it," his friend said stubbornly. Mingyu nodded and Wonwoo took his hand away. 

"I leave it to you." 

"What?“ The younger one smiled. "You will kiss me someday and until then I can hold back." Their friendship would be very exciting from now on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 《I am asking myself if I should stop writing this...i dont know if the plot is interesting enough..🤔 or if it is everytime the same?? What do you think? I am really undecided right now.》
> 
> Still, big hug for my loyal readers! ♡♡


	9. NINE

**November 2019**

Wonwoo was almost out of the door to be on time for his lecture. He had taken his cup from the room, bringing it to the kitchen. Placing it on the counter before turning around, Mingyu was suddenly standing in front of him. The latter leaned forward to get something out of the kitchen cupboard right above Wonwoo´s head. His face was just inches away from the older´s, while his front touched his as well and again Mingyu pretended that it was necessary to get so close. 

"Yah, what are you doing?" Wonwoo asked annoyed as the younger took a step back with a bowl in his hand. 

"I want to eat cereal?" he answered innocently, but a cheeky grin was plastered on his face. Wonwoo shook his head. That had been going on for the past few days. Mingyu was approaching him unnecessarily close in various situations and above all, always with his face right in front of his. 

The older knew exactly why his best friend was acting like that. He wanted to tempt and tease him, proving that Wonwoo had the same desire to kiss him. But the latter wouldn't do him that favor. Of course Mingyu´s kisses had taken his breath away and yes, he was getting goose bumps from remembering it, but that wasn't okay. Just because by some stupid drunk accident they had kissed and realized that their bodies had some kind of attraction to each other, he wouldn't put their friendship at risk. 

That's why Wonwoo did everything he could to push his best friend away and turn his face aside as soon as the younger one was consciously coming too close. "I'm leaving now,“ he let out and walked towards the door. 

"I leave an hour later today. I only have basketball, no lecture," Mingyu replied, now sitting at the table, eating his cereal. „Don´t miss me too much,“ he added, throwing him a kiss.

-

"Are you okay?" Hoshi had accompanied Wonwoo to lunch and now they were walking out on campus to get to their next lecture which they would have together. "Yes, why?“ 

Hoshi tilted his head. "I don't know. I have a feeling that somehow you have been lost in thoughts many times since my birthday.“

Wonwoo grimaced. "I don't know what you mean." He liked Hoshi, but he would definitely not tell him what had happened with Mingyu. 

"Did something happen in the maze?" he asked and Wonwoo shook his head. How could his friend have guessed? "What should have happened? We couldn´t get out like for 2 hours, but everything else is fine."

"Okay, whatever you say, but as soon as Mingyu starts beating or threatening you, let me know, okay?" Wonwoo stopped and stared at him in disbelief. "What are you talking about? Mingyu would never hurt me," he replied immediately while Hoshi stopped as well, but his eyes looked passed him. 

"There's Seungcheol. I haven't seen him here for a while." Wonwoo turned around as their old friend was heading towards them. He hadn't seen him since the incident with Mingyu. Seungcheol stopped infront of them. "Hey you two. Well, did you miss me a lot?"

"Where have you been?" Hoshi asked, while Wonwoo was feeling uncomfortable. 

"I was a bit busy, if you know what I mean,“ the other replied with a grin before his eyes fell on Wonwoo. "Listen, can I talk to you in private for a second?" Mingyu had begged him a few weeks ago not to talk to Seungcheol anymore, but maybe the other wanted to apologize? 

"Come on, just five minutes. See you later Hosh," his old friend said and already reached for Wonwoo´s arm before he could reply anything. He dragged him behind the library building and pressed him against the wall all of a sudden. 

"What are you doing?" Wonwoo asked, trying to move away, but Seungcheol did not exercise for nothing. He was strong. 

"Why are you ignoring me Won? What have I done to you, huh?" he asked, staring at him without batting an eye. 

"Nothing, but I don't like it when you try to persuade Mingyu to do stupid things that are illegal and dangerous," Wonwoo replied and tried not to be intimidated but Seungcheol's aura. 

The latter laughed. "Mingyu told you that, huh? You know, I am aware you've been friends forever, but maybe you shouldn't always believe everything what that asshole says. Maybe it's him who tried to persuade me to do illegal things and he just turns everything around so that fucker can look good in front of you?" 

Wonwoo shook his head. "I know my best friend and don´t call him like that," he muttered but flinched immediately as Seungcheol smashed his fist against the wall right next to his face. 

"He changed and didn't deserve your trust, Won! And it's not his place to just take me from his life as a friend.Who does he think he is? Mingyu´s taken my pride from me and now I'm taking something from him as well," he whispered dangerously close to his face. 

"What are you-" Wonwoo was interrupted with a wet kiss. What was happening? He immediately placed his hands against Seungcheol's chest to push him away, but the latter was stronger and even shoved his tongue into Wonwoo's mouth. Only seconds later he let go of him again. 

"What the fuck are you doing?" Wonwoo yelled, the taste of the other in his mouth giving him goose bumps. He wiped over his lips several times, feeling disgusted.

"I'm sorry. I don't like boys, but it had to be,“ Seungcheol replied bored before turning around, walking away. „See you.“ Was he even serious? 

Wonwoo was mad. He wanted to scream and punch his fist against something. What was that asshole thinking, kissing him like that?! And why couldn´t he defend himself? The rage brought tears to Wonwoo´s eyes. He wiped over his mouth again, trying to get the taste of Seungcheol's lips from them but it didn´t seem to work. He needed to do something about it. Rinse out his mouth, scrub his lips or- as he ran back on the campus, he spotted Mingyu, who was walking from the sports field with a fellow student. His best friend was wearing his basketball clothes as Wonwoo headed towards him with tears in his eyes. 

Mingyu was startled when the older was suddenly right in front of him but his face became serious again after a moment. "What is-" Wonwoo had to get the taste off and didn't let Mingyu finish as he crashed his lips onto his. He gave the younger one no time to react, but demanded entry with his tongue which his best friend granted him with a moan. "Fuck," the latter whispered against his lips and Wonwoo didn't know what he was doing. 

They were in the middle of the campus. Other students witnessed everything. But Wonwoo couldn't move away from Mingyu - especially not when the younger started moving his lips and tongue against his as well. His knees became soft, his tears stopped and his stomach was full of sensations of happiness. Why did that feel so right? 

He couldn't get enough of his friends lips -Seungcheol´s kiss already forgotten. But when breathing became hard, Wonwoo forced himself to tear away from Mingyu. He stared on the ground as he realized what he had just done in front of hundreds of pairs of eyes. 

The older didn't dare to look at his best friend so he turned around and ran away towards the lecture hall. Had he gone completely mad? This time he had definitely gone too far.

Wonwoo ran into the building, but instead of going into room 2 to learn something about management, he ran up the stairs to the roof. He hadn't been there for a long time. Mingyu and he had celebrated their reunion during the first week at university there. The roof was actually not allowed to be entered by the students but Wonwoo didn´t care right now. He sat down on the cold ground and leaned against some crates which were standing around. 

Wonwoo closed his eyes and wished for another time. A time before the kiss; before little Mingyu had to move away with his family; a time before the death of his father. He wanted to be a child again, playing happily with his best friend inside the Kim´s garden. More tears were running down his face. What was happening to him? Why was his whole life such a mess? He had just stuck his tongue down the throat of the only constant he had always been able to hold on to. 

A few minutes later Wonwoo could hear how the door to the roof opened. At first he thought it was the janitor who had seen him heading upstairs and feared that he would scold him, but when he peered around the crate, he spotted Mingyu. The older hid himself, hoping that his friend hadn't seen him but he wasn´t lucky enough.

"I won't tease you and ask you anything about the kiss. I just want to know why you cried," his best friend muttered, standing next to him, looking at the sky. 

When Wonwoo kept silent, the younger sat down as well right next to him. "I forgot how beautiful it is up here,“ he mumbled. „I should come back up here more often.“

Wonwoo shrugged as Mingyu reached over, wiping a tear away from the older´s cheek. "What happened?" he asked softly and Wonwoo couldn´t look at him. He knew his puppy eyes would make him all soft and freak him out. 

After he didn't answer him again, the younger one placed his hand on his. "Wonwoo." The latter closed his eyes. If he told Mingyu what had happened, he would run downstairs in rage and try to find Seungcheol and that was exactly what the other one wanted. 

"I don't want to talk about it," he replied softly as Mingyu squeezed his hand. Why was he so understanding? He had just shoved his tongue inside bad boy Kim Mingyu´s mouth in front of half the college. He should be mad at him.

"I'm sorry for earlier," Wonwoo apologized without looking at him. 

"It's okay. I told you you don't have to say anything about that," Mingyu replied kindly and that made Wonwoo angry. He was behaving like a fool towards his friend and the younger reacted with complete understanding. Why? 

"Mingyu, I'd rather you yell at me or tease me or whatever, but please don't just be so nice,“ he said frustrated, glancing at his puppy friend. Mingyu placed his hand at his cheek, wiping the remaining tears in silence. But Wonwoo didn't miss his fond look, which was making him crazy.

"Stop looking at me like that,“ he whined.

„What do you mean?“ Mingyu asked, removing his hand.

„You are looking at me as if I am the most important thing for you," he replied with a pout. Why did he say that? And why was his stupid heart beating so fast? 

"There has never been anything or anyone more important in my life than you. So I am allowed to look at you like that." Wonwoo could have cried again. He didn't deserve his best friend. No matter how annoying and rough he could be sometimes, the younger one was the dearest and most understanding person towards him, always there when he needed him. 

"Would you forget today if I asked you to?" Mingyu tilted his head. "If you want me to." 

Wonwoo smiled and as he finally looked up at his face he noticed a new bruise above his friend´s eyebrow. 

"What happened? You didn't have that this morning,“ he whispered and brushed over the spot while Mingyu closed his eyes at his touch. 

"From basketball." Wonwoo smirked. "If you don't hurt yourself because you're fighting someone, the basketball will handle it for you, huh?" 

"Wonwoo." Mingyu´s facial expression was serious and the older one took his hand away from his face. 

"I'm gonna tell you something now and I don't want you to get up in the middle of it and run away, I want you to listen to me, okay?" The older one nodded although he wasn't sure he could keep that promise. 

"I've been thinking a lot these past few days about you, about us. All fun aside. I know we are like brothers, we know each other inside out, but what I feel for you at the moment has nothing to do with brotherly love anymore. You know I hate to talk about my feelings, but I think if I don't say this right now, it will always stand between us. I can handle everything you will say or do to me afterwards, but I can't keep it to myself. I think I am in-“ 

"I love you!" Wonwoo interrupted him with a wild heartbeat. The words were out before he could stop them. "I love you since I know what love is. This feeling was always there, but I never understood it that way. You are all I think about and care about. In the past eight years without you, I cried almost every day because I missed you so fucking much. I love you and I know that even if it doesn't work out with us, I will still love you," he babbled without thinking about what he was actually saying. His heart was beating so wild that he could hardly speak.

Mingyu teared up while leaning towards him. "I know I told you I'd wait for you to make the next move but you can't tell me all this and assume that I won't kiss you right now,“ he whispered before closing the distance between them. Wonwoo shut his eyes and for the first time since they had their first kiss, the older let himself fall. There were no ulterior motives, no fears, no worries -it was just beautiful. 

When they separated to get some air, the younger one smiled widely. "Actually I wanted to tell you earlier that I would never put you under pressure, but-" Wonwoo grabbed for his chin and kissed him again. 

"Shut up," he muttered against his friend´s lips. "I love you too! So fucking much," Mingyu replied.

♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧  
**August 2016**

_„Yah, you had enough.“ Wonwoo had come back to Mingyu over the summer holidays and the two had decided to drink their first beer together. The younger had often drank with Seungcheol and his clique before - more than beer. But with his best friend it was the first time. ___

_„If you're not used to drinking, it could be very bad for you." Wonwoo rolled his eyes. "I'm older than you so shut up. Besides, why do you already have so much experience? You weren't allowed to drink at all yet"._

_Mingyu shrugged. "That's why I'm the bad boy."_

_Wonwoo took another sip and waved off. He immediately realized that his friend was already tipsy so he had to laugh because he didn't want to admit it. "Your cheeks are already red because of the alcohol."_

_"They're not.“ Minguy smirked and nudged them as he took another sip. "You know you don't have to play the tough guy in front of me."_

_Wonwoo gave him a bored look. "I am not."_

_Four beers later his older friend was lying with a hiccup on his carpet and Mingyu was really amused of the sight. "Stop laughing at me. Everything is spinning in this fucking room."_

_Mingyu lay down beside him, grabbing his hand. "Hold on to me then."_

_Wonwoo turned his head towards his friend. "Isn't it funny that we've been living six years apart from each other and yet it's like we were never seperated._

_Mingyu also turned his head towards the older. "You called me every day. We didn't get a chance to drift apart at all.“_

_Wonwoo smirked and squeezed his hand. "Shut up. I did that because I love you."_

_„Love you too.“_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your many encouragements to continue this story. I am very happy that you find the plot interesting!  
> I can't promise that many more chapters will come, but I won't end it right now.  
> Lot´s of love to all of you!! <3 
> 
> ++Sorry again but Seuncheol is really not very nice in this story :(++


	10. TEN

**October 2010**

_"Min? Min?“ Wonwoo ran into the forest where his friend had disappeared minutes ago. His parents had been fighting and he had left a message to the older before running away. Wonwoo knew that Mingyu always went into the forest when he was angry or sad. There they had built themselves a small kind of cottage a few months ago._

_The older spotted his friend, sitting with his red jacket on a fallen tree trunk from afar. Mingyu never cried, but Wonwoo could see, how sad the younger was. He sat wordlessly beside him. "They fought over me. I was disobedient and Mom defended me when Dad wanted to scold me. Then they yelled at each other," his friend said in a sad tone._

_Wonwoo wrapped his arm around his shoulders. "I'm sorry."_

_Mingyu sighed. "I can't stand it when they yell at each other and when people yell at me."_

_Wonwoo pulled him closer to his body. "I know. Adults are often stressed and yell more quickly."_

_The younger nodded and leaned his head on his friend's shoulder. "Won."_

_"Hmm?"_

_"Promise me you'll never yell at me when we grow up." Wonwoo reached for Mingyu´s hand. "Never."_

♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧

**November 2019**

As Mingyu entered the door of his apartment after basketball training, Wonwoo was sitting on the couch in the living room, immersed in a business book. "Hi," he greeted the younger one without looking up while adjusting his glasses. 

Mingyu loved it when the older was wearing them, which made him look so soft. He dropped his bag on the floor before heading towards the couch. "Don't always throw your stuff somewhere in the room," Wonwoo remarked, flipping a page. 

Three days had passed since they had confessed their love for each other. Since then they had hardly seen another, because bis friend was stressed of the exams coming and Mingyu was frequently practicing for an important match which would take place in a few days.

The younger one had really missed his friend and watching him sitting on the sofa with his thick wool socks, his body covered in a blanket and with glasses on, he became suddenly really fond of that person in front of him.

He squatted down at the other end of the couch and bent forward so that he was now with his face right in front of the book. "Business management. Study and Revision Guide," Mingyu read out loud before poking his nose against it.

"Is it interesting?" he asked and stubbed his nose against the book once again, hoping that Wonwoo would finally look at him. But his older friend kept it in front of his face. "Mhh," he let out and flipped through the pages again. 

"More interesting than me?“ Mingyu asked and placed his hand on Wonwoo´s.

"Gyu." The older lowered his book so he could peek over the edge. "I have to study. There are important exams ahead of me." 

Mingyu pouted and let go of his hand. "I know. I'm not doing anything though," he replied innocently. 

"You're trying to distract me. Don't do that," his friend said before lifting his book up again so that his face was hidden. 

Mingyu crawled forward, resting his arm on the back of the sofa. "Gyu." 

"Mh?" He grabbed the blanket with his free hand pulling it down from Wonwoo´s body. "Can you please get off the couch?" the older asked without looking at him.

"That's my couch too," Mingyu replied stubbornly. He continued to pull on Wonwoo´s blanket and then started to caress his friend's chest with his hand. 

"Yah!“ Wonwoo put the book away and glared at him, but seemed flustered. Mingyu looked back at him innocently, but was happy inside that the stupid book was finally out of the way. He leaned even more forward and repositioned his arms so that he was now hovering over the older one. 

"Gyu,“ the older let out warningly, still glaring at him while his friend lowered his face down to him. 

"Hm?" Mingyu let out and couldn't look away from the older´s lips. 

"That's unfair," Wonwoo whispered before lifting his hands, cupping Mingyu´s face. "You're all sweaty." 

"You don't really mind," the younger replied while Wonwoo's glare was gone, his eyes looking at him very fondly. "It's your fault if I screw up the exams." 

Mingyu smirked and leaned further down so that their nose tips touched. "I can live with that. Can I give you a kiss now?“ he asked politely and Wonwoo smiled.

"Do whatever you have to do." Mingyu sulked. Was he the only one who was completely messed up inside, because they had hardly exchanged any affections in the last few days? He leaned away. 

"If you don't want to, then I don't need it either. Continue studying, I don´t care,“ he replied offended and sat up. Mingyu could withstand it. He didn't want to appear so needy. 

Just as he was about to get up from the sofa, Wonwoo grabbed his arm, pulling him towards him so that the younger almost crashed down on him. "Are you stupid?" the older breathed. "I just read a page of the book ten times and still don't know what it says because I have to think of your lips all the time," he whispered and Mingyu´s heart started beating heavily. 

"I'm trying so hard to study because I really have to, but you- you're just there and I'm watching your every move and when you're not with me, I wonder when you're coming back. Why do you think I am studying here in the living room instead in my room?" 

Mingyu couldn't resist a smile. "You love me so much, huh?" he asked teasingly and gave him a kiss on the tip of his nose. 

"Shut up," Wonwoo replied but pulled him closer until their lips finally touched. He experienced the same fireworks as when they had kissed three days ago. Mingyu's whole stomach was tingling and he felt as if he was about to explode. 

The younger had to lean away after a few seconds because Wonwoo literally took his breath away. "I am so crazy about you. I didn't get the ball into the basket twice at close range today because I had to think of you,“ he whispered against his lips. 

"Mhh, I'm not even sorry," Wonwoo replied, licking his way into his mouth and Mingyu saw hearts and stars everywhere. How could he be friends with this person for so many years and never kiss him? He couldn't understand it. 

"Fuck, you make me really weak," he whispered as they had to gasp for air again. 

"You're much more interesting than this shitty book," Wonwoo whispered back as he traced his fingers along Mingyu´s upper lip. 

"I'd be offended, if not," the younger one replied and kissed his finger before aiming at his mouth again. 

"I'll let you study now, otherwise I'll have a guilty conscience if you write bad grades," he muttered after another lingering kiss and leaned away from the older one with a heavy heart. 

"No," the latter whined, making Mingyu smile. "What?" 

"First you make me stop studying and now you just go? That is unfair!“ 

„Study now and don't sulk like that," Mingyu said with a smile and ruffled through his friend's hair. 

Wonwoo held him by the arm, his cheeks reddened. "You're so sexy wearing basketball clothes, do you know that? It looks so-" 

The younger shut him again with a kiss, cradling his face. How can he say that to him? Didn't he know that he was driving him even more crazy with those words? 

"You must study," he mumbled against his lips. "Mhh," Wonwoo gave back before kissing him again. 

"Okay, that's enough, otherwise you'll regret it,“ Mingyu said after he had detached himself from his friend, jumping up from the sofa before Wonwoo could make him weak again. Why did he suddenly have to be the responsible one? He knew why -Wonwoo´s well-being was important to him and if the older would mess up the exams, he would feel bad and Mingyu couldn't let that happen. 

The younger one walked into the bathroom and left a sulking Wonwoo back on the sofa. His phone rang when he had just taken off his shirt. It was Seungcheol. He pushed his call away. 

Just as Mingyu was about to take a shower, his phone vibrated again. He looked at the display and had a message from his old friend. He could already see the first sentence and he didn't like it at all. He opened the message and his mood sank. _Feels good to taste Wonwoo´s lips, doesn't it? I also had the pleasure._ What was he writing? 

It vibrated again with a new message. _If your loverboy didn't tell you, we kissed with tongue._ Seungcheol was into women. Why was he writing such a crap? 

Mingyu threw his cell phone on the bathroom cupboard, showered quickly and went back to the living room where Wonwoo was still sitting on the sofa. The younger tried to calm himself down although he was already quite annoyed. Still there was hope that Seungcheol was bluffing. 

"Did he kiss you?" he asked his older friend, standing in front of him. Wonwoo dropped his book and looked up at him. "What?“ 

"Seungcheol. Did he kiss you?" Wonwoo closed his mouth and looked away. That made Mingyu even more angry, because that was a clear answer. "Wonwoo!" 

The older one adjusted his glasses and was obviously uncomfortable. "I want to know what happened," Mingyu said seriously and sat down on the sofa in front of him. 

Wonwoo took off his glasses and ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't tell you because that's exactly what he wanted. He wanted you to freak out and attack him so he had a reason to hit you back," he muttered. 

Mingyu got angrier -not so much because Wonwoo hadn't told him, but rather because that fucker had touched his friend´s lips. "I couldn't do anything. He just stuck his tongue down my throat without any warning. I was so shocked." 

Mingyu shook his head. He didn't want to hear that. "I'll kill him," he murmured and stood up. Wonwoo immediately jumped after him, grabbing for his arm. "Please don't! I have a weird feeling about this. He will hurt you," he said, while Mingyu was walking towards the door, dragging the older along.

"Gyu, please," Wonwoo pleaded and let go of his arm only to hug him tightly from behind. "Please." Mingyu became soft, but he was so mad. He couldn't leave it just like that. "I'll just talk to him." 

"You won't just talk to him. You're totally angry. You will attack him and that's exactly what he wants," Wonwoo mumbled into his back, tightening his grip around his waist. 

"He sexually harassed you. I can't just overlook that," Mingyu replied sternly before grabbing for the older´s arms to free himself. 

"Gyu," Wonwoo let out whinily and that made the younger one turn around to him. His heart broke at the sight. 

"Why are you crying?" he whispered, wrapping his arms around his friend. 

"I'm worried about you. I don't want him to hurt you. Maybe he's gathered some guys who are supposed to beat you up. Please don't go,“ Wonwoo let out and clung tightly to him as if he would never let go again. "Won." 

"Please don't go. I didn't tell you because I had such a bad feeling about it. Seungcheol is dangerous. I don't want him to hurt you." Mingyu became soft. How could he if this precious person was clinging at him, begging him not to go? 

The younger leaned back, staring at Wonwoo. God, did he always had such strong feelings for him? He wiped away the scattered tears that had rolled down his friend´s cheeks. "If he touches you again, I cannot promise anything any more. But for right now, I stay here.“

"Thank you, thank you, thank you,“ Wonwoo replied and started spreading kisses on the younger one's face, which made him giggle. 

"Why can you control me like that?" he asked him and Wonwoo smiled.

"I'm older." Mingyu snorted. "It's definitely not because of that." 

"Then why?" Wonwoo asked teasingly while nudging his nose against his friend´s neck. He was really making him crazy. 

"Go study now." Wonwoo giggled, leaned back and looked at the younger with fond eyes. "I love you." He had said it before and still it felt like the first time. Mingyu placed his hand around Wonwoo´s neck, pulling him closer to himself so that nothing could fit between them anymore. 

"You're driving me crazy,“ he whispered, kissing him on the forehead. "Since when are you so irresistible?“ Wonwoo grinned. 

"Go study now," Mingyu said again, before releasing him and walking into his room. He took his phone and typed a message to Seungcheol. _You're lucky Wonwoo held me back. If you approach him once more, I'll break your bones and I mean it! And don't call me anymore, asshole._

The sport student sighed and let himself fall on his bed. His anger wasn't relieved yet, but he had promised Wonwoo not to do anything about that -at least not today. The door to his room suddenly opened and the older one came in, wrapped in his blanket. "What is it?“ Mingyu asked and sat up. 

"I miss you,“ his friend mumbled and let himself fall on the bed next to him. Mingyu smiled since they were apart for not more than 3 minutes. "I can not study today any more." 

The younger one placed his arm around Wonwoo´s shoulder and pulled him into his embrace. "Then stay with me." He kissed the top of his head and smelled his hair. "Mingyu." 

"Hmm?" The younger closed his eyes, leaning back against the wall with Wonwoo in his arm. "Dont get hurt anymore, okay?" the latter asked and carressed Mingyu´s arm. "Please don't fight any more." 

The younger one gave him another kiss on the top of his head and kept his lips there. "You can't imagine how worried I am about you,“ Wonwoo added. 

Mingyu raised his head and smiled. „Not more than I worry about you.“ He didn't deserve this human. Really not. "I love you so fucking much." Wonwoo snuggled against him. „I know.“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry i think this chapter is not written very well. This story will soon come to an end. Maybe two or max. four chaps left. 
> 
> Thanks for reading though 😊💚


	11. ELEVEN

**December 2019**

It was probably one of the coldest winter weeks ever. Wonwoo had three pairs of socks on and two blankets wrapped around his body as he was sitting on the sofa on a Saturday afternoon, reading a book. 

Outside it had been snowing non-stop for days and the older one wondered that they were not completely snowed in yet. He hated winter. It was much too freezing. He was a big fan of hibernation, but unfortunately he wasn't a bear so that was out of question.

The business student yawned and stretched out as the door to Mingyu´s room opened. The latter had been on one of his fellow students' birthday party last night and Wonwoo hadn't noticed when he had come back. Judging by his appearance, very late. "Good morning," he greeted his grouchy friend, who just grumbled in return, walking straight into the kitchen to make himself some coffee.

Wonwoo snickered. Actually he loved to tease the younger one when he woke up with a hangover, but since they were more than just friends, he even felt sorry for him when he was in such a state. 

The older stood up from the sofa and headed over to Mingyu, standing behind him and placing his head against his broad back. "Long night?" he asked and wrapped his arms around the latter´s waist. 

His friend sighed audibly and leaned back slightly. "Fucking night. I know I'm trying to be more social, but that robs me of all my energy. I hate people." 

Wonwoo giggled and placed a kiss on his friend's nape. "But you love me," he answered, tightening his grip on him. 

Mingyu poured the coffee into a cup and grumbled something incomprehensible once again. "What?" 

The younger took a sip before turning around in Wonwoo´s embrace, facing him. "My head is pounding and I have a hangover. At the moment, I don't even love you," he muttered, nudging his nose with his fingers. 

Wonwoo pouted playfully. "I see. Then you don't need me right now, huh?" he replied and moved, but Mingyu immediately grabbed his arm, pulling him against his body. "Shut up," he muttered hugging him tightly. 

"Hey, are you falling asleep again?" Wonwoo asked softly when the younger wouldn't let him go after awhile with his chin placed on his shoulder. "Mhh." 

"Mingyu, come on. You have to wake up properly. Drink your coffee or it'll get cold." His friend grumbled but leaned away from him with a pout. 

"I never go to any parties again.“ Wonwoo looked at him from head to toe and was relieved to see no new bruises on his friend´s body - at least no visible ones. 

"I'm surprised you made it without a fight," he replied and Mingyu closed his mouth. Bad sign. "Gyu?" 

His friend turned away while grabbing his cup. "Gyu!" Mingyu took a big sip before walking towards the sofa. "Yah! Did you cause trouble again yesterday?" 

The younger one sat down and put his cup on the table. "Let's go outside," he said all of a sudden and Wonwoo paused for a moment. "What? Get out? It's freezing cold and - Wait, don't change the subject. What happened yesterday?“ 

Mingyu leaned back and stared up at him. "I'm only telling you when we go out, playing in the snow." 

Wonwoo rolled his eyes. "Play in the snow? What are you? Five?“ The younger pouted and made big eyes and actually looked like a little boy, causing Wonwoo to smile. He loved that fool so much. 

"It's totally cold outside, I'm already freezing in here." Mingyu got up. "Put on something warm and in an emergency I'll warm you up. So, in ten minutes we leave," he said and walked into the room, suddenly all woken up and sober. 

Wonwoo growled. "Yah, I haven't agreed to this yet." 

"But you want to know what happened yesterday," Mingyu shouted through the closed door and the older growled again. His friend was right. He had to go through his stupid game for the younger to tell him what had happened. 

-

Fifteen minutes later, the two friends walked out of the house. Wonwoo was so thickly packed that he could hardly move freely, but he preferred it like that rather than freezing. He had put on his scarf, cap, ear protectors and gloves, wearing the thickest clothes he had found in his closet. Mingyu had laughed when he had seen him coming out of his room. 

The younger one hadn't changed into anything warm except his coat and a cap. "You look like a little child, but I like it," he teased him as they walked towards the lake. 

"Shut up. My butt is freezing. Where are we going anyway?“ Mingyu reached for his hand and pulled him along. "Come on, just wait and see." 

"If you throw snow in my face or stick it under my clothes, I'll never kiss you again," Wonwoo warned his friend in advance. 

The latter laughed. "Wow. You have to be very self-confident about yourself to threaten me with something like that," he replied, bumping into him. 

"I know exactly what you want," Wonwoo mumbled quietly as an older couple walked past them, greeting them nicely. 

Mingyu brought him closer to himself. "I want you," he whispered into his ear and goose bumps spread all over the older guy's body.

They arrived at the frozen lake on which many children and adults were already running skates. Wonwoo hated crowded places and hoped that it hadn't been Mingyu´s idea to join the people. But he had apparently forgotten that his friend hated that kind of situations as well. 

"I would never skate if there were a hundred others next to me, constantly knocking into my body or crashing at my feet," he murmured as they passed the crowd. 

"Who is grumpy cat now?" Wonwoo teased him, squeezing his hand. They had never talked about whether they wanted to show their affection in public or not –it just happened naturally and Wonwoo wouldn´t complain.

Mingyu suddenly dragged him through a hedge, causing them to leave the walkway. "Yah, where are we going?" 

His friend said nothing as they were strolling on a meadow along the other side of the hedge. "Are we doing something illegal?" Wonwoo asked nervously and Mingyu laughed. After a few minutes of walking, the younger suddenly stopped and turned around to him. „Are you killing me now for good?“

"No, I just wanted to kiss you,“ he whispered and gave Wonwoo no time to answer as he crashed his lips on his. The older was so surprised that he staggered two steps back and had to hold on to Mingyu´s coat. "I couldn't resist your red cheeks and adorable outfit," Mingyu mumbled against his lips. 

Wonwoo hummed absentmindely and leaned forward to kiss once again. He couldn't get enough of it and even if he rarely took the initiative, he grabbed every chance when his friend started it. "You know," the older murmured and pecked his lips one more time, "if you wanted to kiss me so bad, you could just have done it at home. We didn't have to go out in the fucking cold." 

He leaned back and stared at his friend, who was grinning at him. "That's not everything. Come with me.“ 

They walked hand in hand for a while until a very small lake appeared before them at the edge of the forest. "Where did you find that one?" Wonwoo asked surprised. He didn't know that place and there wasn't a soul at the frozen lake. 

"Well, a bad boy gets around a lot. Come on, it's just for us two." Wonwoo watched Mingyu step on the ice, waving him over. When the younger almost slipped with a panicked face, Wonwoo had to laugh. 

"Can you even skate on ice properly?" he asked and stepped on it carefully. Mingyu immediately grabbed his hand and pulled him towards him. „You know I can. It is not the first time we are doing this.“ 

Wonwoo looked up and suddenly fell in love once again with the soft human in front of him. He had those round eyes that made it so hard to be angry with him at all. "I love you so fucking much, do you know that?" he asked the younger one, his heart beating loudly. "I love you, too."

"So, what happened yesterday?" he asked, while the two were trying to move on the ice on wobbly legs. 

"Seungcheol was at the party yesterday, as well." Wonwoo wanted to stop, but it wasn't so easy as Mingyu made him glide along. "Don't worry. I didn't punch him," he quickly added, probably noticing Wonwoo´s hesitation. 

"I really wanted to though. When I saw him, I wanted to punch him so hard, breaking his nose or something like that, but then I remembered you, crybaby and-" 

"Yah," Wonwoo let out and pushed Mingyu away from him, who slided forward with a smirk.

"Anyway, I grabbed a fellow student and told him to accompany me, so that I could have a witness," Mingyu explained and slid back towards Wonwoo. "We headed to Seungcheol, who was already waiting for me, grinning so disgustingly and I really would have loved to have punched that face. I had to hold myself back very much, but I had a witness with me so I could control myself better." 

Wonwoo reached for Mingyu´s arm when the latter threatened to lose his balance. "I told him some nice things and gave him a warning, turned around and left the party. He called some insults after me, but I just didn't listen anymore." 

The older stood right in front of him and stared up at his friend. "That's all? That's all that happened?“ 

Mingyu looked down at him in surprise. "Yes? Should more have happened?" Wonwoo shook his head and placed a kiss on the younger man's lips. "I am proud of you!“ 

His friend rolled his eyes. "No, really. Thank you for not starting a fight,“ Wonwoo mumbled.

Mingyu sighed dramatically. "What am I not doing for my-" He couldn't continue talking when he suddenly lost his hold, falling on his butt.

The older one started laughing because his friend's facial expression deserved a prize while falling. Wonwoo held on to his belly because he had to giggle that much. "Stop it," Mingyu let out, laying down on the ice. "Stop it or you'll regret it,“ he threatened, but Wonwoo couldn't stop laughing. 

The older hadn't expected though for Mingyu to sit up all of a sudden, grabbing his arm, pulling him down as well. Wonwoo let out a startled scream before dropping on the younger who was growling under him. 

The business student had to laugh even more as he raised his head, looking down at his friend. "Is it cosy?" Mingyu asked while the older was lying on top of him. 

"You pulled me down," Wonwoo replied with a smile. Mingyu´s facial expression became serious, staring at him intently. "You should get up or you'll get sick," Wonwoo muttered, but his friend held him on top of him. 

"You're so pretty," Mingyu whispered and the older one noticed his blush coming. "I didn't deserve you." 

Wonwoo snorted. "Funny. I think the same about myself every time," he replied before leaning his face down, spreading kisses on Mingyu´s cheeks. "Now please get off the ice," he murmured as the younger started giggling from the kisses. 

Wonwoo stood up and stretched out his arm, helping his friend up, who immediately crashed his lips onto his as soon as he was standing. The younger shoved his tongue into his mouth and Wonwoo moaned. He hadn't expected that at all, but all of a sudden he got so warm although it was sub-zero outside. 

"I think Dad would have said that he knew that this would happen -if he could see us now," the older let out when Mingyu had leaned away to catch his breath. "What do you mean?“

"He always said that we are more than friends. I always said, of course, because we're like brothers, but he just shook his head and grinned. I think you had his blessing already at the age of 4 to make me yours." Mingyu smiled and placed a kiss on Wonwoo´s forehead. "I always told your Dad you are mine."

Wonwoo smiled and sneezed. It was unbelievable that he was still freezing despite everything he had put on. "Come on, let's go back. You'll be sick tomorrow and I'll have to listen to your whine."

They started walking back again and the older reached for Mingyu´s hand. Meanwhile he could not endure much longer without being in physical contact with his friend. "When do we tell our parents?" he asked and the younger shrugged. "I don't think it'll surprise them very much."

Wonwoo squeezed the hand of his friend. "Then let's call them and tell them." Mingyu looked over him. 

"Right now?" Wonwoo nodded. "Unless you don't want to." 

His friend grinned. "And what exactly do you want to tell them?" The older blushed. "Do you want to tell them that currently I am kissing every part of your body or that I feel most comfortable with my tongue sticking down your throat or-" 

Wonwoo placed his hand on the younger´s mouth. "Yah, shut up. We are in public and children are jumping around everywhere. Control yourself." Mingyu laughed. 

"I just want to tell them that we like each other more than just friends now." His friend laughed even more. 

"As if they didn't already know that." Mingyu was right. Probably everyone knew for a long time already and only they had realized it last.

♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧

**December 2009**

_"Ouch, that hurts," Wonwoo shouted and rubbed his butt as he tried to get up on the slippery ice again._

_Mingyu stood next to him, laughing hard. "You have to eat more. As thin as you are, everything hurts you."_

_The older glared before sliding over to him. "It hurts even a heavyweight to fall on hard ice," he said before pushing his friend, so that he lost his footing, but the latter could still keep his balance and remained standing. He stretched out his tongue towards Wonwoo._

_"I hate you," the older let out, moving towards his direction, but Mingyu skidded away from him. "Come here," Wonwoo whined and made grabby hands after him but the younger shook his head._

_"You just want me to fall down too." Wonwoo shook his head and pouted. "No, I want to skate together with you."_

_Mingyu didn't believe him, but stopped and stretched out his hand to him. The older grabbed it and lightly crashed into him so as to slow down. "You have icy hands. Why didn't you take any gloves with you?" Mingyu scolded and put his warm hands around those of his friend._

_"You got me out of my house all of a sudden and I hardly had time to get dressed," the elder accused him._

_"It's okay. I'll warm you up now," Mingyu replied and blew on his cold hands._

_Wonwoo looked up at him and smiled. "I don't hate you."_

_The younger stopped what he was doing and looked at him in surprise. "What?"_

_"I don't hate you. No matter what you do- I can't hate you at all". Mingyu let go of his hands and moved back a bit. "Stop saying such things. It's creepy."_

_Wonwoo grinned and followed him. "You love it, admit it."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you ♡


	12. TWELVE -Final chapter

**December 2019**

It was the 24th of December. Mingyu and Wonwoo were invited to the younger´s parents for Christmas Eve. After being warmly welcomed by them, both friends were now sitting at the table while Mingyu´s mother was arranging the meal. 

"Wonwoo, we haven't seen you in ages. How's the study going?" the younger´s father asked, who was sitting opposite them. His friend had just taken a sip of some juice and smiled at him. 

"It's going well, Mr Kim. I passed all the important exams, so I think I am going to make it," he replied, making Mingyu snort. "You're the best of your class, so don't speak so poorly of yourself." 

"Then I hope you are a good role model for our Mingyu," his father replied with a laugh. „He needs it.“ Mingyu snorted again.

"We should eat now, otherwise everything will get cold," his mother interrupted their conversation, grinning from ear to ear. Since Mingyu had told her on the phone a few days ago that he and Wonwoo were a couple, she was completely overexcited, really happy for them.

"Thank you for all the food Mrs. Kim," Wonwoo said before reaching for his fork. 

"You two fit each other so well. It's really a shame you can't have children," his mother let out randomly. Mingyu almost swallowed the bite of potato he had just put into his mouth. 

"MOM!“ he yelled and glanced over at his friend, who started blushing. 

His mother grinned. "I'm sorry, but that's the truth. Look at you, both so handsome." 

Mingyu shook his head and drank a sip of his wine. Wonwoo had offered to drive home so he could drench his mother's embarrassing words in alcohol at least. "It would have been so nice if your father would seen you like this -both so happy to be reunited," his mother suddenly said. 

"Mom," Mingyu yelled again, but Wonwoo placed his hand on his thigh, soothing him. "It's okay." 

Mrs. Kim smiled. "He always told us how intimate you two have been and that he wouldn't be surprised if there will be more than friendship in the future." She was really embarassing.

"Dad must have told that to everyone but me," Wonwoo replied with a laugh. 

"Well, you were 12, 13 years old. You wouldn't have understood it anyway,“ she replied. 

Mingyu snored. "What nonsense. I knew when I was 8 that Wonwoo would be mine forever -no matter in what kind of way." The older smiled up at him, squeezing his thigh.

-

As the friends were driving back to their apartment, Wonwoo was humming a song to himself. He seemed to be in a good mood and Mingyu nudged his finger against his cheek. "Why are you in such a good mood?" 

The older, who was concentrating on the street, shrugged. "It was really nice with your parents. They still like me as much as they used to." 

Mingyu snored. "They always liked you more than me. Look, Wonwoo is behaving at school. Look, Wonwoo writes good grades." 

The older one laughed, placing his hand on Mingyu´s thigh. "Look, Wonwoo got himself a bad boy as boyfriend," he mumbled, making his friend smile. 

It was dark outside and just as the younger was about to answer, he spotted a person standing by the side of the road a few meters in front of them. "God, that scared me,“ he let out, pointing his finger at the dark figure as Wonwoo slowed the car down. 

"What are you doing?" the younger asked his friend in dismay, not liking the situation already.

"I want to stop and ask if we can help.“ Mingyu really didn't like that. "Hey, it's Christmas Eve and the middle of the night on some godforsaken country road. Don't you think it's weird?" 

Wonwoo turned on his blinker and stopped at the side, not far away from the person. "Exactly, it's Christmas Eve and that's why I want to help the poor guy." When he turned off the engine and unbuckled, Mingyu grabbed for his arm. 

"Can't we just call the cops? Look, he's not moving at all. He's just standing there like some crazy dude. That's not normal!“ Wonwoo seemed to think for a moment, but opened the door nontheless. 

"Fuck," Mingyu muttered and got out of the car as well. He was a little scared, because everything about that was reminding him of a bad horror movie, but he would definitely not let Wonwoo walk over to that creep by his own.

"Sir, can we help you?" his friend asked the man as they stepped closer towards him. He looked normal.

"Hey you, my car broke down and my phone's dead. Can you take me to the nearest gas station?" Great, that's how every horror movie starts. 

"Sure. That's annoying that something like that happens to you on Christmas Eve," Wonwoo replied, smiling at him. He was way too nice for this world and completely naive. 

"Wow, thanks, that's great. I'll just get my bag from the car." As the man walked away, Wonwoo looked up at Mingyu. "Why are you pulling such a face?" 

"You're way too naive. That could be a murderer who's just getting his axe to slaughter us both," Mingyu replied harshly, crossing his arms infront of his chest.

Wonwoo shook his head. "For not watching horror movies, you have pretty wild thoughts in your mind."

Mingyu sighed. "Whatever. But if he turns out to be a psychopath, don't say I didn't warn you." 

"If he really is a psychopath and kills us, you can't say anything anymore anyway," his friend joked, but the younger one didn't find this funny at all. 

"Whatever. Shut up," he hissed at him as the man came back with a backpack slung over his shoulder. 

"What brings you out on Christmas Eve?" he asked them as they were walking back to Wonwoo´s car. 

"We have visited his parents and are now heading home again,“ the older replied. The man nodded and they remained silent as they sit into the car. 

"Do you live together?" He suddenly asked and Mingyu found these questions way too personal, but Wonwoo didn't seem to matter at all. "Yes, we're both studying on the same campus."

"I see. That must be great to live together as friends. Especially when your friend is so hot." And it started. As it looked, they hadn't taken a psychopath into their car, but a pervert. "Because I think you're really hot," the man added, placing his hand on Mingyu´s shoulder from behind, causing the younger to flinch. 

„Thank you, I guess,“ Mingyu replied and turned his face to Wonwoo. Suddenly the latter didn't look as relaxed anymore as a few minutes ago, but Mingyu had warned him. 

"Maybe we can do something tonight once your buddy drops us off somewhere?" The younger couldn't even answer as Wonwoo pulled over to the side of the road abruptly, stopping the car. 

"Get out!" he said harshly and Mingyu looked at him in surprise. He didn't know this side about his friend at all - at least he had not acted like that towards strangers before. 

"What?“ the man asked perplexed. "We're in the middle of nowhere. What are you talking about?“ 

"I don't give a shit. Get out! That's not my buddy you're hitting on right now, that's my boyfriend! And it really gets on my nerves that you're flirting with him five minutes after we offered you to help." 

The man laughed. "My goodness, you guys are so stuffy." 

"Just get out. The gas station comes in the next few meters, so you can walk there." 

The man opened the door. "What a bore," and got out without making a fuss, thank God. "Thank you for nothing,“ he shouted, shutting the door with a loud thud. 

Wonwoo started driving again and Mingyu held on tight. He immediately realized that his friend was angry. "Calm down, it's all good again," he reassured him. Wonwoo kept silent.

The younger nudged his finger against his cheek. "Stop that," his friend hissed. 

"Why are you angry now?" Wonwoo kept silent again and turned the music louder. A clear sign that he didn't want to talk about it now. 

-

When they arrived home 15 minutes later and Mingyu was about to get out, his friend broke the silence. "I'm sorry. I was so naive and I put you in danger. We should have just called the police and not brought him with us. It could have been worse." 

Mingyu let go of the handle and turned towards his friend, cupping his face with his hands. "But nothing happened. So don't worry your mind about it." 

Wonwoo pouted. "But he flirted with you and touched you in front of my eyes. And I couldn't do anything because I was driving. Why didn't you hit him? You're not usually like that.“

Mingyu smiled and placed a kiss on his pouting lips. "It's Christmas. For once I didn't want to use violence," he joked and got a smile back from his cute friend.

"I think I like you," Wonwoo whispered and Mingyu grinned. 

"Really?" A nod. "Then you should come inside for a drink," the younger joked, making Wonwoo laugh. 

"Nothing would be better than that."

♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧

**Oktober 2018**

_Mingyu was standing in front of the new apartment in which he would be moving in with Wonwoo. His parents had arranged everything and neither he nor his friend had seen the rooms before._

_Mingyu hadn't seen his best friend for almost a year now because he had been working during the last summer holidays and couldn't visit him this time._

_The younger was nervous and tugged at his shirt. At the same time, he could hardly keep his joy in check because of the fact that the friends would actually be reunited again._

_As a car pulled up and parked behind the building, his heart beat faster. He ran over and when Wonwoo got out, nothing could stop him any more._

_Before his best friend could close the door behind himself, Mingyu jumped on him and wrapped his arms tightly around his body. "Fuck, you scared the shit out of me," Wonwoo mumbled against his chest._

_"I missed you so much! And I am so happy to see you! I'll say that once and never again," Mingyu whispered into his friend's ear as the latter wrapped his arms around him as well._

_"Let's see if you will still say that in a few weeks when you get fed up with me." Mingyu leaned away and grimaced. "You are a part of me. If I'm fed up with you, I'm going to be fed up with myself as well."_

_Wonwoo smiled. "May I take out my luggage now before you crush me with your love?"_

_Mingyu snored. "Be glad that you are privileged to receive this attention from me at all. You're the only one."_

_"I feel honored."_

_"You should."_

_"I do."_

_They were beginning the second stage of their friendship and Mingyu had the feeling that it would be much more intense like in their childhood._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First I have to apologize because I think this is more of a drabble than a real chapter. And it's poorly written too.  
> 🙈  
> But I wanted to finish this somehow altough the motivation for it wasn´t really high anymore tbh.  
> Unfortunately I couldn't express the bad boy side of Mingyu the way it was planned, but I'm still glad that you liked the story. Very grateful for all the kudos and comments! ❤❤


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